m 


A   /  '/^/  t'  L^^  '  iftxryi 


ir^ 


'1  ■''>♦- 


33d  Congress,  )          go.  OF  REPS.                i  ^T^^^^' 
1st  Session.      )  C      ^o-  ^'^^ 


EXPLORATION 


VALLEY  OF  THE  AMAZON, 


MADE    UNDER  DIRECTION   OF 


THE  NAVY  DEPARTMENT, 


BY 


Witf.  LEWIS  HERNDON  AXD  LARDNER  GIBBON, 

LIEnTENANTS   UNITED    STATES   NAVY. 


PART  I. 

BY   LIEUT.  HERNDON. 


WASHINGTON: 

robeiTi'aemstrong,  public  printer 

1S54. 


LETTER  OF  THE  SECRETARY  OF  THff  NAVY, 

COMMUNIOATIKG 

A  REPORT  OF  AN  EXPLORATION  OP  THE  VALLEY  OF  THE  AMAZON  AND  ITS 

TRIBUTARfES,  MADE  BY  LIEUT.  HERNDON,  IN  CONNECTION 

WITH  LIEUT.  GIBBON. 


Janoary  6,  l854.~ResolveH,  That  there  be  printed,  for  the  use  of  tlic  members  of  tlie  House, 
ten  iJiousand  extra  copies  of  the  report  of  the  Secretary  of  ilie  Navy  cominunicating  Uie  reports 
of  the  exploration  of  the  river  Amazon  and  its  tributaries,  made  by  Lisutenants  Herndon  and 
Gibbon,  with  tlie  accompanying  maps  and  plates. 

April  13,  1S5A.— Resolved,  That  there  be  printed  twenty  thousand  additional  copies  of  the 
reports  of  tlic  surveys  and  explorations  of  the  river  Amazon,  with  the  plates  and  maps  accom- 
panying, by  Lieutenants  Herndon  and  Gibbon — two  hundred  and  fifty  copies  for  distribution  by 
Lieutenant  Herndon,  and  two  hundred  and  fifty  copies  by  Lieutenant  Gibbon,  and  tlie  retnainder 
for  tlie  us«  of  the  membeis  of  the  House. 


To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives: 

I  herewith  transmit  a  communication  from  the  Secretaiy  ol  the 
Navy,  accompanied  by  the  fii-st  part  of  Lieut.  Hemdon's  Report  of 
the  Exploration  of  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries, 
made  by  him,  in  connexion  with  Lieut  Lardner  Gibbon,  under  in- 
structions from  the  Navy  Department. 

MILLARD  FILLMORE. 

Washington,  February  9,  1853. 


Navt  Department,  i^eJrzwry  7,  18S3. 
To  the  President. 

Sir  :  In  compliance  with  the  notice  given  in  the  annual  report  of 
this  department  to  the  President,  and  communicated  to  Congress  at  the 
opening  of  its  present  session,  I  have  the  honor  herewith  to  submit 
the  first  part  of  the  Report  of  Lieut.  Herndon,  of  the  Exploration  of  the 
Valley  of  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries,  made  by  him,  in  connection 
with  Lieut.  Lardner  Gibbon,  under  instructions  from  this  depai'tment, 
dated  the  15th  of  Februaiy,  1851. 

I  am  happy  to  be  able  to  inform  you  that  Lieut.  Gibbon  reached 
Par4  on  his  homewaid  journey  some  weeks  ago,  and  may  very  soon 
be  expected  to  arrive  in  tlie  United  States.  When  he  returns,  Lieut. 
Herndon  will  have  all  the  materials  necessary  to  complete  his  report, 
and  will  devote  himself  to  that  labor  with  the  same  assiduity  which 
has  characterized  his  present  work. 


17  CORRESPONDENCE. 

I  would  re<!pectfiilly  beg  leave  to  suggest  that,  in  submitting  this 
report  to  the  House  of  Representatives,  it  be  accompanied  with  a 
request  to  that  kxly,  if  it  should  think  proper  to  direct  the  prii^ng 
of  this  valuable  document,  that  the  order  for  that  purpose  may  in- 
clude all  the  remaining  portions  of  the  report  which  may  hereafter 
be  furnished ;  and  that  the  order  for  printing  shall  include  a  suit- 
able direction  for  the  engraving  and  publication  of  the  maps,  charts, 
and  sketches,  which  will  be  furnished  as  necessary  illustrations  of  the 
subjects  treated  of  in  the  report. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  with  the  highest  consideration,  your  obedient 
servant, 

JOHN  P.  KENNEDY. 


Wasuikgton  CiTV,  January  26,  1853. 
To  the  Hon.  John  P.  Kenkedt, 

Secretary  of  the  Navy. 

Sir:  I  have  the  honor  to  submit  part  first  of  the  Report  of  an 
Exploration  of  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon,  made  by  me,  with  the 
assistance  of  Lieut.  Lardner  Gibbon,  under  instructions  of  the  Navy 
Departmant,  bearing  date  February  15,  1851. 

The  desire  expressed  by  the  department  for  an  early  report  of  my 
exploration  of  the  Amazon,  and  the  general  interest  manifested  in 
the  public  mind  with  regard  to  the  same,  have  induced  me  to  lay 
before  you  at  once  as  full  an  account  of  our  proceedings  as  can  be 
made  before  the  return  of  my  companion. 

The  general  map  which  accompanies  the  report  is  based  upon  maps 
published  by  the  Society  for  the  diffusion  of  Useful  Knowledge,  but  cor- 
rected and  improved  according  to  my  own  personal  observations,  and 
on  information  obtained  by  me  whilst  in  that  country. 

The  final  report  of  the  expedition  will  bo  submitted  as  soon  after 
Lieut.  Gibbon's  return  as  practicable.  I  am  in  daily  expectation  of 
intelligence  from  him.  At  the  latest  accounts  (2Cth  of  July,  1852)  he 
was  at  Trinidad  de  Moxos,  on  the  Maraore,  in  the  republic  of  Bolivia, 
making  iiis  preparations  for  the  descent  of  the  Madeira. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  very  respectfully,  your  obedient  ser\'ant, 

WM.  LEWIS  HERNDON, 

Lieut.  U.  S.  Navy. 


CONTENTS. 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 


Page. 


United  States  ship  Vandalia— Valparaiso— Santiago— Vicente  Pazos— Pre- 
paratory orders— Lima— Means  of  information— Conquests  of  the  lucas 
in  the  Montana— First  exploration  of  the  Spaniards— Madame  Godin . .  1 


39 


CHAPTER  II. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Orders— Investigation  of  routes— Lake  Rogoaguado— River  Beni— Chan- 
chamayo— Cuzco  route— River  Madre-de-Dios- Gold  mines  of  Cara- 
baya— Route  through  the  cities  of  Truxillo,  Caxamarca,  Chachapoyas, 
Moyobamba,  «&c.— Preparations  for  the  journey— The  start *0 

CHAPTER  III. 

Passports— Means  of  defence— The  road— Pacayar—Chaclacayo— Narrow 
pass— Yanacoto— Bridge— Cocachacra— Tribute  money— Dividing  line 
between  the  coast  and  the  Sierra— Moyoc— Varieties  of  the  potato— 
Matucana— San  Mateo— Mines  of  Parac— Narrow  valley— Summic  of  the 
Cordillera— Reflections 

CHAPTER  IV. 

Mines  of  Morococha— A  Yankee's  house— Mountain  of  Puypuy— Splendid 
view— Pachachaca— Lava  stream— Chain  bridge  at  Oroya— Descent  into 
the  valley  of  Tarma—Tarma— American  physician— Customs— Dress- 
Religious  observances— Muleteers  and  mules— General  Otero— Fanning 
in  the  Sierra— Road  to  Chanchamayo— Perils  of  travel— Gold  mines  of 
Matichacra— View  of  the  Montana— Fort  San  Ramon— Indians  of  Chan- 
chamayo— Cultivation 

CHAPTER  V. 

Division  of  the  party— Acobamba— Plain  of  Junin— Lake  Chinchaycocha— 
Preservation  of  potatoes— Cerro  Pasco— Drainage  of  the  mines— 
Boliches 


61 


90 


U  CONTENTS. 

,.  CHAPTER    VI. 

Page. 
Departure  from  Corro  Pasco — Mint  at  Quinua — San  Rafael— Ambo — Qui- 

oacan— Huauuco — Cerro  de  Carpia — Chinchao  valley— Huallaga  river..       113 

CHAPTER   VII. 

Itiiiernrv — Tintjo  Maria — Vampires  —  Ulow  (^I'ns  —  Cunot?  uavigation  — 

Shooting  monkeys— Tocaehe — .Sion— Salt  hills  of  Pilluaiia 132 

CHAPTER   VIII. 

Tarapoto— Pon^o  of  Chasuta— Chaeuta— Yurimaguas — Sta.  Cruz— Anto- 
nio, the  Paragui — Laguna— Mouth  of  the  Huallaga l.''>6 

CHAPTER   IX. 

Entrance  into  the  Amazon — Xauta — Upper  aw<l  lower  miaaions  of  Mai- 
nas — Conversions  of  the  Ucayali — Trade  in  Sarsapuriilu — Advantages  of 
trade  with  this  country 176 

CHAPTER   X. 

Nauta — River  Ucayali — Sarayacu — The  missionaries— The  Indians  of  the 
Uciiyali 190 

CHAPTER   XI. 

Upper  Ucayali — M.  Castelnau — Length  of  navigation — Loss  of  the  priest — 
Departure  from  Sarayacu — Omaguas — Iquitos — Mouth  of  the  Najwi — 
Pebas— San  Jos6  de  los  Yaguas— State  of  Indians,  of  Peru 208 

CHAPTER   XII. 

Chochiquinas — CaballoCocha — Alligators — Indian  incantations — Loreto — 
Tahatinga— River  Yavari — San  Paulo — River  If^a-Tunantins— Making 
Manteiga— River  Jutay — Fonteboa — River  Juru^— River  Japur.'i 229 

CHAPTER    XIII. 

Eg8i — Trade — Lake  Ooari — Mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro — Barra — Trade — 
Productions 250 

CHAPTER   XIV. 

Town  of  Ilarra — Foreign  residents — Population — Rio  Negro — Connexion 
with  the  Oronoc<» — River  Punis — Rio  Branco — Vegetable  productions  of 
the  Amazon  countr>- 269 

CHAPTER   XV. 

Departure  from  Barra — River  Madeira — Sorpa — Villa  Nova — Maues — 
River  Trombetaa — Cocoa  plantations — Obidos— Santarem '.'•<'> 


CONTENTS.  iii 

CHAPTER  XVI.  • 

Santarem— Population— Trade — River  Tapajos — Culaba—Diamond  re- 
gion— Account  of  the  Indians  of  the  Tapajos 295 

CHAPTER  SVII. 

Departure  from  Santarem — Monte  Alegre — Praiuha— Almeirim — Guru- 
pd— River  Xingu— Great  estuary  of  the  Amazon— India-rubber  country- 
Method  of  collecting  and  preparing  the  India-rubber — Bay  of  Limoeiro— 
Arrival  at  Pard 319 

CHAPTER  XVIII. 
•  Pari 334 

CHAPTER  XIX. 
Re8um6  ..,, , 350 

APPENDIX. 

Notes— Table  of  approximate  heights  and  distances  from  Callao  to  the 
Atlantic — Meteorological  journal 359 

Addendum ,,.,..,......,.. ...i 39? 


LIST  OF  PLATES. 


Pit- 

Plate    1. — Cathedral  of  Lima,  (to  face  title  page.) 

Plate    2. — Yanacoto 44 

Plate    3. — Hacienda  de  Moyoc 60 

Plate    4.— nSan  Mateo 60 

Plate   5. — Summit  of  ihe  Cordillera 60 

Plate    6. — Mountain  of  Puypuy 60 

Plate   7.— Oroya 76 

Plate    8.— Tarma 76 

Plate    9.— Fon  San  Bamon , 92 

Plate  10.— Cerro  Pa«co 108 

Plate  11.— Miner 108 

Plate  12.— Ore  carrier .^ ll»8 

Plate  13.— Giraro 172 

Plate  14.— Gi  vara It8 

Plate  15.— Zaparo,  (Hunter) 204 

Plate  16.— Zaparo,  (Fisher) 204 


CHAPTER  I. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

U.  S.  ship  Yandalia— Valparaiso— Santiago — Yicente  Pazos— Preparatory 
orders — Lima — Means  of  information — Conquests  of  the  Incas  in  the  Mon- 
t^iia — First  explorations  of  the  Spaniards — Madame  Godin. 

Attached  to  the  U.  S.  ship  Vandalia,  of  the  Pacific  squadron,  lying 
at  anchor  in  the  liarbor  of  Valparaiso,  in  the  month  of  August, 
1850,  I  received  a  communication  from  the  Superintendent  of  the 
National  Observatory,  inibrming  me  that  orders  to  explore  the  Valley 
of  the  Amazon  would  be  sent  me  by  the  next  mail  steamer. 

The  ship  was  then  bound  for  the  Sandwich  Islands,  but  Captain 
Gardner,  with  that  kindness  which  ever  characterized  his  intercoui-se 
with  his  officers,  did  not  hesitate  to  detach  me  from  the  ship,  and  to 
give  me  permission  to  await,  at  Valparaiso,  the  arrival  of  my  instruc- 
tions. 

The  officers  expressed  much  flattering  regret  at  my  leaving  the  ship, 
and  loaded  me  with  little  personal  mementos — things  that  might  be 
of  use  to  me  on  my  proposed  journey. 

On  the  6  th  of  August  I  unexpectedly  saw,  from  the  windows  of  the 
club-house  at  Valparaiso,  the  topsails  of  the  ship  mounting  to  the 
mastheads;  I  saw  that  she  must  needs  make  a  stretch  in-shore  to 
clear  the  rocks  that  lie  off  the  western  point  of  the  bay ;  and  desirous 
to  say  farewell  to  my  friends,  I  leaped  into  a  shore-boat,  and  shoved 
off,  with  the  hope  of  reaching  her  before  she  went  about.  The  oarsmen, 
influenced  by  the  promise  of  a  pair  of  dollars  if  they  put  me  on  board, 
bent  to  their  oars  with  a  will,  and  the  light  whale-boat  seemed  to  fly ; 
but  just  as  I  was  clearing  the  outer  line  of  merchantmen,  the  ship 
came  sweeping  up  to  the  wind ;  and  as  she  gracefully  fell  off  on  the 
other  tack,  her  royals  and  courses  were  set ;  and  bending  to  the  steady 
northeast  breeze,  she  darted  out  of  the  harbor  at  a  rate  that  set 
pursuit  at  defiance.  God's  blessing  go  with  the  beautiful  ship,  and 
the  gallant  gentlemen,  her  officers,  who  had  been  to  me  as  brothers. 

Owing  to  the  death  of  President  Taylor,  and  the  consequent  change 
in  the  Cabinet,  my  orders  were  delayed,  and  I  spent  several  weeks  in 


2  INTRODUCTORY. 

Valparaiso,  and  Santiago,  the  capital  of  CLili.  This  time,  however," 
was  not  thrown  away :  my  residence  in  these  cities  improved  my 
knowledge  of  the  Spanish  language,  and  gave  me  information  regarding 
the  Bolivian  tributaries  of  the  Amazon  which  I  probably  could  have 
£fot  nowhere  else. 

The  commander  of  the  English  naval  forces  in  the  Pacific,  Admiral 
Hornby,  was  much  interested  in  my  mission,  and  searched  for  me, 
through  his  valuable  libraiy,  for  all  that  had  been  wiitten  upon  the 
subject.  I  am  indebted  to  him,  and  the  officers  of  his  fleet,  for  much 
personal  kindness. 

I  must  also  return  thanks  to  Messrs.  George  Ilobson,  11.  Y,  Ward, 
George  Good,  and  Commodore  Simpson,  of  the  Chilian  navy,  for  the 
loan  of  books  and  maps  which  assisted  me  in  forming  my  plans,  and 
deciding  as  to  route. 

Mr.  Bridges,  an  English  florist  and  botanist,  who  had  descended  the 
Chapare  and  Mamore,  tributaries  of  the  Madeira,  as  far  as  the  mouth 
of  the  Beni,  and  who  sent  the  firet  specimen  of  the  Victoria  Regia  to 
Eno-land  from  this  country,  gave  me  such  a  description  of  it  as  enabled 
me  to  point  out  to  Mr.  Gibbon  the  most  practicable  route  to  the  head- 
waters of  those  streams. 

I  also  had  long  conversations  with  General  Ballinan,  ex-President  of 
Bolivia,  then  an  exile  to  Chili.  He  lent  mo  a  map  of  Bolivia, 
executed  under  his  orders  whilst  President  of  that  republic,  of  which 
I  took  a  tracing,  but  which  I  had  afterwards  the  misfortune  to  lose. 

At  Santiago  I  received  information  regarding  the  river  Beni,  and 
the  interior  of  Bolivia  and  Peru,  from  a  French  gentleman  named 
Pissis,  an  engineer  in  the  employment  of  the  Chilian  government ;  and 
also  from  a  gentleman  named  Smith,  an  employ6  in  the  large  mercan- 
tile house  of  lluth,  Gruniug  &  Co.,  who  had  travelled  much  in  those 
countries. 

To  Don  Jos6  Pardo,  charge  d'affsiires  of  Peru  to  the  republic  of 
Chili,  I  owe  much  for  information  and  advice,  lie  gave  me  copies  of 
letters  from  Vicente  Pazos,  a  citizen  of  Buenos  Ayres,  who  has  always 
manifested  much  interest  in  the  improvement  and  advancement  of 
South  America,  and  who,  in  1819,  published  a  series  of  pajiei-s  on  the 
afiairs  of  that  country,  directed  to  Henry  Clay.  These  lettei-s  I  deem 
of  sufficient  interest  to  give  a  translation  of. 


INTRODUCTORY.  3 

Buenos  Ayres,  July  14,  1850. 
To  Don  Jose  Pardo, 

Minister  of  the  Peruvian  Republic^  near  the  Government  of  Chili. 

Sir  :  In  a  journal  of  this  capital  of  tLe  2d  inst.,  I  have  seen  a  tran- 
script of  a  letter  from  you  to  the  editor  of  a  periodical  of  this  place,  in 
which  you  say,  under  date  of  the  25th  of  April  last,  that  you  have 
received  special  notice  of  the  discovery,  in  the  province  of  "Carabaya," 
of  the  ore  and  washings  of  gold.  In  consequence,  the  government  of 
Peru  invites  all  who  desire  it  to  take  advantage,  and  make  use  of  the 
natural  productions  of  these  regions,  where  emigrants  of  all  nations 
shall  have  all  the  political  and  religious  guarantees  necessary  in  the 
exercise  of  their  industry. 

This  announcement  fills  me  with  pleasure,  because  it  is  an  evidence 
of  the  elevation  of  ideas  which  obtains  in  the  government,  and  which 
will  carry  this  part  of  Upper  Peru  to  the  height  of  prosperity  to  which 
it  is  called  by  its  topographical  and  territorial  position ;  and  particu- 
larly because  it  has  in  its  midst  navigable  rivers  which  connect  it  with 
the  Atlantic.     I  allude  to  the  navigation  of  the  Amazon. 

I  have  been  now  engaged  some  ten  years  in  the  thought  and  study 
of  the  political,  social,  and  commercial  relations  concerning  this  matter, 
as  is  shown  in  my  many  publications  which  have  circulated  in  Europe 
and  America.  These  show  the  pains  I  have  taken  with  the  government 
of  Louis  Philippe,  King  of  France,  in  order  to  open  a  new  line  of  com- 
mercial communication  between  Cayenne  and  French  Guyana  and  the 
republics  of  Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  and  Venezuela. 

But  I  have  always  thought  that  our  America,  by  the  intelligence  of 
its  people,  was  to  make  a  great  social  and  commercial  change ;  and  I 
have  always  thought  that  this  change  would  operate  by  means  of  its 
gigantic  and  navigable  rivers.  This  conception  is  corroborated  by  the 
announcement  of  the  discovery  of  the  gold  regions  of  Carabaya.  Its 
upper  parts,  which  belong  to  the  Andes,  feed  sheep  of  the  most  exquisite 
wool ;  and  as  it  goes  on  descending,  vegetation  springs  up  with  a  fecun- 
dity and  ease  unknown  in  the  Old  World.  The  land  is  cut  up  with 
mountain  torrents,  whose  banks  contain  gold,  and  which  unite  to  form 
the  river  "  Purus,"  one  of  the  greatest  tributaries  of  the  Amazon. 

Of  this  river,  our  celebrated  botanist,  D.  Tadeo  Ha-enke,  in  a  special 
report,  says :  "Purus,  or  Cachivara,  is  a  river  of  the  first  order.  It 
arises  in  the  cordillera  of  Vilcanota,  a  little  to  the  east  of  the  mountains 
of  Carabaya,  from  which  descend  many  considerable  streams,  rich  in 
gold."    To  the  testimony  of  this  wise  naturahst  I  add  that  of  Conda- 


4  IXTRODUCTORY. 

mine,  and  of  the  Engli.-sh  naval  officer,  Sinytli,  and  lastly  the  works  of 
the  Count  of  Csistclnau,  who  descended  the  Amazon  from  Cuzco. 

The  scientific  and  hydrographical  works  of  these  travellers  persuade 
me  that  the  *'Purus"  will  be  the  best  channel  of  interior  commerce, 
and  will  put  the  centre  of  Peru  in  communication  with  the  indu*.tri;v!, 
commercial,  and  manufacturing  nations  of  Europe  and  North  America. 

For  this  effect  it  is  proper  not  only  to  speak  of  and  familianze  people 
with  this  easy  line  of  communication,  but  also  to  stimulate  foreign 
emigration,  and  the  civilization  of  the  inhabitants  of  our  forests — a 
people  of  a  gentle  disposition  and  an  active  intelligence. 

The  first  sight  I  had  of  steam  in  the  United  States  of  America,  in 
181 S,  gave  me  the  idea  that  our  rivers  were  equally  susceptible  with 
theirs  of  this  motive  power,  so  that,  in  a  work  which  I  published  in 
New  York  in  1819, 1  said  that  the  day  would  anive  in  which  vessels 
movod  by  steam  would  navigate  upon  the  gold-beaiing  rivers  of  Peru, 
as  upon  the  fabulous  Pactolus.  This  prediction  is  not  now  to  me  a  fable, 
and.  therefore,  my  conviction  is  unshaken,  as  will  be  seen  by  a  letter 
which  I  have  wiitten  to  the  President  of  the  republic.  Prince  Louis 
Napoleon  Bonaparte.  The  note  to  which  I  refer  in  it  is  very  long, 
which  prevents  me  from  copying  it,  but  some  day  it  will  be  published. 

In  the  mean  time,  I  congratulate  you,  and  your  government,  that  in 
its  administration  should  have  taken  place  a  measure  so  necessary  for 
the  common  good. 

Permit  me,  also,  to  offer  you  my  respects,  and  to  subscribe  myself, 
Your  obedient  servant, 

VICENTE  PAZOS. 

BuEjros  Ayres,  February  2,  1850. 
To  His  Excellency  Prince  Louis  Nai'dlkox  Bonaparte, 
President  of  the  French  Hcpublic. 
Prince  :  In  bnnging  to  the  notice  of  your  excellency  the  adjoined 
copy,  which  is  a  duplicate  of  my  note,  laid  before  the  executive  powfr 
whii.h  governed  republican  France  in  June,  1848,  my  object  is  to  call 
the  attention  of  your  excellency  to  the  same  project  which  Napoleon, 
your  august  uncle,  conceived  for  the  aggrandizement  of  the  most  im- 
portant colony  which  France   possesses   in   the  New  World — French 
Guyana.    Before  tJie  applicjition  of  steam  to  navigation,  this  tutelar 
genius  of  France  comprehend<'<l  that  Cayenne  would  some  day  bo  the 
key  to  a  vast  commerce  in  all  th^e  regions,  where  might  be  created 
great  empires. 


INTRODUCTORY. 


This  sublime  conception  infused  into  my  spirit  the  idea  that  the  time 
had  arrived  to  realize  the  views  of  the  Emperor ;  and,  with  this  object,  I 
addressed  myself  to  the  Frencb  government,  in  April,  1840,  when  the 
Chambers  decreed  trans-atlantic  steam  nangation,  to  the  end  that  there 
should  also  be  established  a  river  line  between  French  Guyana  and  the 
republics  of  Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  and  Venezuela.  All  the  ministers 
who  governed  until  February,  1848,  including  also  the  monarchy, 
approved  my  project,  and  took  the  preliminary  measures  necessary  for 
beginning  a  system  of  navigation  without  equal  since  the  days  of 
Columbus  and  Yasco  de  Gama. 

Officers  of  the  French  navy,  stimulated  by  the  example  of  those  of 
the  Eno-lish,  who  had  preceded  them  in  the  exploration  of  the  Amazon, 
made  also  important  hydrographical  observations  of  the  course  of  that 
river,  which  show  that  its  principal  outlet  is  along  the  shores  of  French 
Guyana,  whence  France  may  command  the  flu\'ial  navigation  and  the 
commerce  of  those  vast  regions, 

I  thought  that  this  advantage,  which  a  glance  at  the  geographical 
position  of  French  Guyana  shows,  would  work  effectually  in  the  judg- 
ment of  M.  Arago,  then  Minister  of  Marine  and  member  of  the  pro- 
vincial government  of  the  French  republic. 

The  reply  of  this  wise  astronomer,  of  April  14th,  to  my  note  of  the 
22d  April  preceding,  smothered,  not  only  my  hopes,  but  closed  the 
doors  to  the  prosperity  of  the  French  colonies,  and  to  that  of  those 
nations  whose  streams  form  the  Amazon,  and  whose  people  desire  with 
eagerness  this  new  and  short  way  of  communication  between  Europe 
and  meridional  America. 

The  grandeur  of  this  plan,  which  is  found  set  forth  in  my  notes, 
memorials,  and  writings,  which  may  be  found  in  the  different  ministe- 
rial bureaus  of  France,  together  with  the  opinions  of  many  French 
wiitei-s  and  travellers,  among  whom  the  most  distinguished  is  M. 
Castelnau,  demonstrate  the  utility  of  encouraging  the  growth  of 
Guyana. 

To  all  the  information  furnished  by  these  ought  to  be  added  the 
verbal  communications  which  I  have  received  from  the  commander  of 
the  "Astrolabe,"  M.  Montravel,  who  is  now  on  the  station  of  the  river 
Plate,  under  the  order  of  Vice  Admiral  Le  Predour.  M,  De  Montravel, 
in  the  corvette  Boulognaise,  is  the  officer  who  made  the  exploration  of 
the  Amazon,  and  whose  most  valuable  information,  which  exists  in  the 
department  of  the  French  marine,  corroborates  all  that  I  have  expressed 
to  the  French  government  for  these  ten  yeai-s,  and  now  animates  me  to 


6  IXTRODUCTORY. 

address  myself  to  your  excellency  directly,  renewing  the  same  project 
which  I  had  the  honor  of  presenting  to  the  French  nation,  &c. 

VICENTE  PA^S. 


The  city  of  Santiago  is  situated  in  a  lovely  plain  at  the  very  foot  of 
the  Cordillera,  llie  snowy  summits  of  this  chain,  painted  in  bold 
relief  against  the  hard,  giay  sky  of  the  morning,  have  a  very  singular 
and  beautiful  appearance;  they  seem  cut  from  white  marble,  and 
within  reach  of  the  hand.  It  is  almost  impossible  to  give  an  idea  of 
the  transparency  of  the  atmosphere  at  this  j)lace.  I  was  never  tired  of 
watching,  from  Lieut.  Gillis's  little  observatory,  the  stars  rising  over 
these  mountains.  There  was  nothing  of  the  faint  and  indistinct 
glimmer  which  stars  generally  present  when  rising  from  the  ocean ; 
but  they  burst  forth  in  an  instant  of  time,  in  the  full  blaze  of  their 
beauty,  and  seemed  as  if  just  created.  Gillis  told  me  that  his  small 
telescope,  of  American  manufacture,  of  C^  inches  of  aperture,  Mas 
there  fully  equal  in  power  to  the  German  glass  at  Washington  of  9 
inches. 

Chili,  in  arts  and  civilization,  is  far  ahead  of  any  other  South 
American  republic.  There  are  many  young  men  of  native  families, 
educated  in  the  best  manner  in  Europe,  who  would  be  ornaments  to 
any  society ;  and  the  manners  of  the  ladies  are  marked  by  a  simple, 
open,  engnging  cordiality,  that  seems  peculiar  to  Creoles.  I  do  not 
know  a  more  pleasant  place  of  residence  than  Santiago,  except  for  two 
causes:  one,  eurthnuakes,  to  the  terroi-s  of  which  no  familiarity  breeds 
inditference ;  the  other,  the  readiness  of  the  jwople  to  appeal  to  the 
bayonet  for  the  settlement  of  political  differences,  or  in  the  struggle  for 
political  power.  These  two  causes  shook  the  city  and  society  to  their 
foundations  a  few  montlis  after  I  left  it. 

On  the  20th  of  January,  1851,  I  received  the  following  instructions 
from  the  Hon.  William  A.  Graham,  Secretary  of  the  Navy: 

Navv  DErARTMEXT,  October  30,  1850. 
Sir:  Proceed  to  Lima,  for  the  purpose  of  cxjlleoting  from  the  mon- 
asteries, and  other  authentic  sources  that  may  bo  accssible  to  you, 
information  concerning  the  headwaters  of  the  Amazon  and  the  re- 
gions of  country  drained  by  its  ]^•ruvian  tributarios.  You  will  then 
visit  the  monasteries  of  liolivia  for  a  like  purpose,  touching  the 
Bolivian  tributaries  of  that  river,  should  it  \n  your  judgment  be  desir- 
able. 


INTRODUCTORY.  ' 

The  object  of  the  department  iu  assigning  you  to  this  service  is  with 
the  view  of  directing  you  to  explore  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon,  should 
the  consent  of  Brazil  therefor  be  obtained ;  and  the  information  you 
are  directed  to  obtain  is  such  as  would  tend  to  assist  and  guide  you  in 
such  exploration,  should  you  be  directed  to  make  it. 

As  this  service  to  which  you  are  now  assigned  may  probably  in- 
volve the  necessity  of  the  occasional  expenditure  of  a  small  amount 
on  government  account,  you  are  funiished  with  a  bill  of  credit  for 
one  thousand  dollars,  for  which  you  will  account  to  the  proper  office 

Also,  enclosed  you  will  find  a  letter  of  introduction  to  Messrs.  Clay 
and  McClung,  charges  d'afi'aires  near  the  governments  of  Peru  and 

Bolivia. 

Respectfully,  &c., 

WILLIAJSI  A.  GRAHAM. 


As  I  had  obtained  from  my  Santiago  and  Valparaiso  friends— par- 
ticularly from  General  Ballivian— all  the  information  that  I  would  be 
likely  to  get  in  the  cities  of  Bolivia,  I  determined  to  proceed  to  Lima, 
and  accordingly  embarked  on  board  the  mail  boat  of  the  26th. 

My  residence  in  Valparaiso  had  made  new  friends  and  established 
new  ties,  that  I  found  painful  to  break;  but  this  is  the  lot  of  the 
navy  officer :  separated  from  his  family  for  years,  he  is  brought  into 
the  closest  and  most  intimate  association  with  his  messmates,  and 
foi-ms  ties  which  are  made  but  to  be  broken,  generally  by  many  years 
of  separation.  Taken  from  these,  he  is  thrown  among  strangers,  and 
becomes  dependent  upon  their  kindness  and  hospitality  for  the  only 
enjoyments  that  make  his  life  endurable.  Receiving  these,  his  heart 
yearns  towards  the  donors;  and  my  Valparaiso  friends  will  readily 
believe  that  I  was  sad  enough  when  compelled  to  leave  them. 

I  arrived  in  Lima  on  the  6th  of  February.  This  city  has  changed 
greatly  since  I  was  here,  twenty  yeixrs  ago.  Though  we  had  bull- 
fights on  the  accession  of  the  new  President,  General  Echenique, 
(which  accession,  strange  to  say,  took  place  without  popular  tumult, 
except  a  small  outbreak  at  Arequipa,  resulting  in  the  immediate 
imprisonment  at  Lima  of  the  opposing  candidate,  General  Vivanco,) 
yet  the  noble  amphitheatre  was  not  crowded  as  in  old  times  with  the 
elite  and  fashion  of  Lima,  but  seemed  abandoned  to  the  vulgar. 
The  ladies  have  given  up  their  peculiar  and  most  graceful  national 
costume,  the  "Saya  y  Manto,"  and  it  is  now  the  mark  of  a  ragged 
reputation.  They  dress  in  the  French  style,  frequent  the  opera,  and, 
instead  of  the  "Yerba  de  Paraguay,"  called  Matte,  of  which   they 


#- 


8  INTRODUCTORY. 

used  a  c^fat  quantity  fonnerly,  they  now  take  tea.  Tljese  are  causes 
for  regret,  for  one  likes  to  see  nationality  presen-ed ;  but  there  is  one 
cause  for  congratulation,  (especially  on  the  part  of  sea-goimr  men, 
•who  have  sometimes  stifFered,)  the  railroad  between  Lima  and  Callao 
has  broken  up  the  robbers. 

But  with  these  matters  I  have  nothinrr  to  do.  My  firet  business  at 
Lima  was  to  establish  relations  with  Don  Francisco  Paula  y  Vi<^l, 
the  accomplished  and  learned  superintendent  of  the  public  librar)-. 
This  gentU'raan,  who  is  an  ecclesiastic  and  a  member  of  the  Senate, 
has  so  high  a  character  for  learning  and  honesty,  that,  though  a  par- 
tisan politician,  and  a  member  of  the  opposition  to  the  new  govern- 
ment, he  preserves  (a  rare  thing  in  Peni)  the  respect  and  confidence 
of  all.  lie  placed  the  books  of  the  library  at  my  disposal,  and  kindly 
selected  for  me  those  that  would  be  of  service. 

The  sources  of  information,  however,  were  small  and  unsatisfactory. 
The  military  expeditions  into  the  country  to  the  eastward  of  the  Andes 
left  little  or  no  reliable  traces  of  their  labors.  The  records  of  the 
explorations  of  the  Jesuits  were  out  of  my  reach,  in  the  archives  of 
Quito — at  that  time  the  head  of  the  diocese,  and  the  startinir-point  of 
the  missions  into  the  interior — and  noaily  all  that  I  could  get  at  were 
some  meagre  accounts  of  the  opicrations  of  the  Franciscans,  collected 
by  Father  Manuel  Sobreviela,  guardian  of  the  missionary  college  of 
Ocopa,  and  published,  in  1790,  in  a  periodical  called  "Morcurio 
?"eruano,"  edited  by  an  association  styling  itself  "Amantes  del  Pais," 
or  lovers  of  their  country. 

Though  the  information  obtained  in  Lima  was  not  great,  I  still  think 
that  a  slight  historical  sketch  of  the  attempts  to  explore  the  Montana,* 
of  Peni,  made  since  the  conquest  of  that  country  by  Pizarro,  will  not 
be  uninteresting.  Before  commencing  it,  however,  I  desire  to  express 
my  acknowledgments  to  the  many  gentlemen,  both  native  and  foreign, 
who  have  assisted  me  in  my  researches  with  information  and  advice, 
particularly  to  Don  Nicholas  Pierola,  the  Director  of  the  National 
Museum,  whose  name  is  associated  with  that  of  Mariano  do  Rivero,  as 
^'^par  ercellcnrc"  the  scientific  men  of  Peni;  to  the  Hon.  John  Randolph 
Clay,  charg6  d'affaires  of  the  United  States ;  to  Dr.  Archibald  Smith, 


*  Moutann  (pronounced  Montanya)  is  the  name  given  bj  tho  PeruTiana  to  anj 
wooded  country,  "niontu"  being  the  Spniiinh  term  for  a  thick  and  tangled  fureiit. 
Ab  there  i»  nti  other  wooded  country  in  Peru  except  to  the  eaatwanl  of  the 
Andes,  the  term  applies  only  to  tlie  eastern  slope,  anil  tho  level  country  at  the 
base  of  the  mountains,  atretching  as  far  aa  the  confiaei  of  Brazil. 


INTRODUCTORY.  y 

an  eminent  physician,  and  autlior  of  a  very  clever  book  called  "  Peru  as 
it  is ; "  and  to  the  courteous  and  hospitable  partners  of  the  mercantifo 
house  of  Alsop  &  Co.,  Messrs.  Prevost,  Foster  &  McCall. 

Modern  books  upon  the  subject — such  as  Prescott's  Peru;  Humboldt's 
Narrative ;  Von  Tschude's  Travels ;  Smith's  "  Peru  as  it  is ; "  Conda- 
mine's  Voyage  on  the  Amazon ;  Prince  Adalbert's  'Travels  ;  the  Journals 
of  the  English  Lieutenants,  Smyth  and  Maw ;  "  Travels  in  Maynas  "  of 
Don  Manuel  Ijurra,  who  afterwards  accompanied  me  as  interpreter  to 
the  Indians ;  Southey's  Brazil,  and  a  Chorographic  Essay  on  the  Prov- 
ince of  Para,  by  a  Brazilian  named  Baena — were  all  consulted,  and, 
together  with  oral  communications  from  persons  who  had  visited  various 
parts  of  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon,  gave  me  all  the  information  within 
my  reach,  and  prepared  me  to  start  upon  my  journey  at  least  with  open 
eyes. 

According  to  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  himself  a  descendant  of  the 
lucas,  the  attention  of  the  Peruvian  government  was  directed  to  the 
country  east  of  the  Andes  evep  before  the  time  of  the  Spanish  conquest 
The  sixth  Inca,  Rocca,  sent  his  son,  Yahuar  Huaccac^  at  the  head  of 
15,000  men,  with  three  generals  as  companions  and  advisers,  to  the 
conquest  of  the  country  to  the  northward  and  eastward  of  Cuzco,  called 
Antisuyo,  inhabited  by  Indians  called  Antis.  The  young  prince  added 
a  space  of  thirty  leagues  in  that  direction  to  the  dominions  of  his  father, 
but  could  reach  no  further  on  account  of  the  roughness  of  the  country 
and  the  difficulties  of  the  march.  The  tenth  and  great  Inca,  Yiqycmqvd, 
sent  an  expedition  of  10,000  men  to  pursue  the  conquests  of  Yahuar 
Huaccac.  These  reached  the  Montana,  and,  embarkiug  on  rafts  upon 
the  great  river  Amarumayo*  fought  their  way  through  tribes  called. 
Ckunchos,  till  they  arrived,  with  only  1,000  men,  into  the  territoiy  of 
tribes  called  Musus.  Finding  their  numbers  now  too  small  for  con- 
quest, they  persuaded  these  Indians  that  they  were  friends,  and,  by  their 
superior  civilization,  obtained  such  an  ascendency  among  them,  that 
the  Musus  agreed  to  send  ambassadors  to  render  homage  and  worship 
to  the  "  Child  of  the  Sun,"  and  gave  these  men  of  the  Inca  race  their 
daughters  in  maniage,  and  a  place  in  their  tribe. 

*  As  I  shall  have  occasion,  in  speaking  of  routes,  to  refer  again  to  this  rivec, 
I  would  like  to  draw  particular  atteution  to  it,  simply  stating  here,  however,  that 
all  who  have  penetrated  into  the  Montana  to  the  northward  and  eastward  of 
Cuzco,  agree  in  reporting  a  large  and  navigable  river  arrived  at  soon  after  cleai"- 
ing  the  skirts  of  the  mountains.  Different  tribes  of  Indians  inhabit  its  banks,  and 
I  presume  it  is  on  this  account  that  so  many  different  names — such  as  Amaru- 
mayo, Mano,  Touo,  Inambiri,  Guariguari,  Cachihuara,  and  Madre-de-dios — have 
been  given  it. 


10  INTRODUCTORY. 

Years  afterwards,  during  the  reign  of  ffuaynal  Capac,  the  Incas  and 
their  descendants  desired  to  return  to  Cuzco ;  but  in  the  midst  of  their 
preparations  they  received  intelligence  of  the  downfall  of  their  mition, 
and  settled  finally  among  the  Musus,  who  adopted  many  of  the  laws, 
customs,  usages,  and  worship  of  the  Incas. 

I  have  little  doubt  of  the  truth  of  this  account,  for  even  at  the  present 
day  may  be  found  amongst  the  savages  who  dwell  about  the  headwaters 
of  the  Ucayali,  the  Purus,  and  in  the  country  between  the  Purus  and 
Beni,  traces  of  the  warlike  character  of  the  mountain  race,  and  that 
invincible  hatred  of  the  white  man  which  the  descendants  of  the  Incas 
may  well  be  supposed  to  feel.  This  determined  hostility  and  warlike 
character  prevented  me  from  embarking  upon  the  Chanchamayo  to 
descend  the  Ucayali,  was  the  cause  why  I  could  not  get  men  to  ascend 
the  Ucayali  from  Sarayacu,  and  I  have  no  doubt  hindered  Mr.  Gibbon 
from  penetrating  to  the  eastward  of  Cuzco,  and  seeking  in  that  direction 
the  sources  of  the  Purus. 

This  character  is  entirely  distinct  from  that  of  the  Indians  of  tho 
plains  everywhere  in  South  America,  who  are,  in  general,  gentle,  docile, 
and  obedient,  and  who  fear  the  white  man  with  an  abject  and  craven 
fear. 

Love  of  dominion  and  power  had  induced  the  Indian  princes  of  Peru 
to  waste  their  treasures  and  the  lives  of  their  subjects  in  the  subjugation 
of  the  Montana.  A  stronger  passion  was  now  to  urge  a  stronger  people 
in  the  same  direction.  Stories  of  great  empires,  which  had  obtained  the 
names  of  Beni,  or  Gran  Bard,  Gran  Bairiri,  or  Baitili,  and  £1  Borado, 
filled  with  large  and  populous  cities,  whose  streets  were  paved  with 
gold;  of  a  lake  of  golden  sand,  called  Parima;  of  a  gilded  king,  who, 
when  he  rose  in  the  morning,  was  smeared  with  oil,  and  covered  with 
gold  dust  blown  upon  him  by  liis  courtiers  through  long  reeds,  and  of 
immense  mineral  and  vegetable  treasures,  had  for  some  time  filled  the 
ears  and  occnpiid  the  minds  of  the  avaricious  conquerors ;  and,  after 
tlie  partial  settlement  of  aft'airs  by  the  defeat  of  tho  Almayro  faction  at 
the  battle  of  Salinas,  near  Cuzco,  on  tho  26th  April,  1538,  various 
leaders  sought  opportunities  of  obtaining  wealth  and  distinction  by 
incursions  into  these  unknown  lands. 

Hernando  Bizarro  fitted  out  two  expeditions,  giving  to  Brdro  d« 
Candiii  the  command  of  the  first,  and  to  Bedro  Amnio  that  of  tlie 
second.  These  men,  led  on  by  the  report  of  the  Indians,  who  constantly 
assorted  that  tho  rich  countries  they  sought  lay  yet  farther  to  tho  east- 
ward, penetrated,  it  is  supposed,  as  far  as  the  Beni ;  but,  overcome  by 
danger,  privation,  and  suffering,  they  returned  with  no  results,  save 


INTRODUCTORY.  11 

marvellous  stories  of  what  they  had  seen  and  learned,  which  inflamed 
the  curiosity  and  cupidity  of  othei-s.  These  parties  were  generally  ac- 
companied by  an  ecclesiastic,  who  was  the  historian  of  the  expedition. 
Some  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  worthlessness  of  their  records  by 
examining  a  few  of  the  stories  related  by  them.     Here  is  one  : 

"Juan  Alvarez  Maldonado  made  an  expedition  from  Cuzco  in  the 
year  1561.  He  descended  the  eastern  range  of  the  Andes,  and  had 
scarcely  cleared  the  rough  and  rocky  gi'ound  of  the  slope  when  his 
party  encountered  two  pigmies.  They  shot  the  female,  and  the  male 
died  of  grief  six  days  afterwards. 

"Following  the  course  of  the  great  river  Mano  downwards,  at  the 
distance  of  two  hundred  leagues  they  landed  upon  a  beach,  and  a  piquet 
of  soldiers  penetrated  into  the  woods.  They  found  the  trees  so  tall  as 
to  ^ceed  an  arrow-shot  in  height,  and  so  large  that  six  men,  with  joined 
hands,  could  scarcely  circle  them.  Here  they  found  lying  upon  the 
gi'ound  a  man,  five  yards  in  height,  members  in  proportion,  long  snout, 
projecting  teeth,  vesture  of  beautiful  leopard  skin,  short  and  shrivelled, 
and,  for  a  walking-stick,  a  tree,  which  he  played  with  as  with  a  cane. 
On  his  attempting  to  rise,  they  shot  him  dead,  and  returned  to  the  boat 
to  give  notice  to  their  companions.  These  went  to  the  spot,  and  found 
traces  of  his  having  been  carried  off.  Following  the  track  towards  a 
neighboring  hill,  they  heard  thence  such  shouts  and  vociferations  that 
they  were  astounded,  and,  horror-stricken,  fled."     One  more : 

"Between  the  years  1639  and  1648,  Padre  Tomas  de  Chaves,  a 
Dominican,  entered  among  the  Chunchos,  from  Cochabamba,  in  Boli- 
v-ia.  He  took  twelve  of  them  to  Lima,  where  they  were  baptized. 
He  then  went  back  and  lived  among  them  fourteen  years,  makino- 
many  expeditions.  His  last  was  in  1654  among  the  Moxos  Indians 
of  the  Mamore.  He  there  cured  a  cacique  of  some  infirmity,  and 
the  Emperor  of  the  Musus  (this  is  the  great  Paititi  or  gilded  King 
of  the  Spaniards)  sent  six  hundred  armed  men  to  the  cacique  of  the 
Moxos,  demanding  that  the  reverend  father  should  be  sent  to  cure 
his  Queen.  The  Moxos  were  very  unwilling  to  part  with  their  phy- 
sician ;  but  threats  of  extermination  delivered  by  the  ambassadors  of 
the  Emperor  induced  compliance;  and  the  padre  was  carried  ofi"  on 
the  shoulders  of  the  Indians.  After  a  travel  of  thirty  days,  he  came 
to  the  banks  of  a  stream  so  wide  that  it  could  scarcely  be  seen  across  • 
(supposed  to  be  the  Beni.)  Here  the  Indian  ambassadors  had  left 
their  canoes;  loosing  them  from  the  banks,  they  launched,  went 
down  the   stream   twelve   days,  and   then  landed.    Here   the  father 


19  INTRODUCTORY. 

found  a  large  town  inhabited  by  an  incredible  number  of  savages,  all 
soldiers,  guarding  this  great  port  of  ibo  river,  and  entrance  into  the 
empire  of  the  Musus.  No  women  were  to  be  seen ;  they  lived  in 
another  town,  a  league  off,  and  only  came  in  by  day  to  bring  food 
and  drink  to  the  warriors,  and  returned  at  night. 

"  lie  obserred  that  the  river  at  this  place  divided  into  many  arms, 
all  appearing  navigable,  and  formed  large  islands,  on  which  were  great 
towns.  He  travelled  hence  twenty-seven  days,  when  he  arrived  at 
court.  The  King  came  out  to  meet  him,  dressed  in  the  finest  and 
most  delicate  feathers,  of  difl'erent  colors.  He  treated  his  guest  with 
great  courtesy,  had  a  sumptuous  feast  prepare<f  for  him,  and  told  him 
that,  hearing  of  his  wonderful  powers  as  a  physician,  he  had  sent  for 
liim  to  cure  the  Queen  of  a  disease  which  had  baffled  the  skill  of  all 
his  doctors.  The  good  father  remarked  that  he  was  no  physician, 
and  had  not  been  bred  to  that  art ;  but  observing  that  the  Queen  was 
beset  with  devils,  ('  obsesa,')  he  exorcised  her  according  to  the  formulary, 
whereby  she  was  thankfully  made  a  Christian.  He  was  eleven  months 
in  the  court  of  the  Paititi ;  at  the  end  of  which  time,  seeing  that  the 
wine  and  flour  for  the  sacred  elements  were  giving  out,  and  having 
baptized  an  infinite  number  of  infants  in  'Articulo  Morti*,'  he  took 
leave  of  their  majesties,  recommending  to  the  Queen  that  she  hold 
fast  the  faith  she  had  received,  abstaining  from  all  oftence  towards 
God.  lie  refused  from  the  King  a  great  ])resent  of  gold,  silver,  pearls, 
and  rich  feathers ;  whereat  (says  Father  Tomas)  the  King  and  cour- 
tiers wondered  greatly." 

These  are  of  the  number  of  stories  which,  inflaming  the  cupidity 
of  the  Spaniards,  led  them  to  brave  the  perils  of  the  wilderness  in 
search  of  El  Dorado.  They  serve  to  show  at  this  day  the  little  con- 
fidence which  is  to  be  placed  in  the  relations  of  the  friars  concerning 
this  country ;  I  do  not  imagine,  however,  that  they  are  broad  lies. 
The  soldiers  of  Maldonado  evidently  mistook  monkeys  for  jtigmies, 
and  some  beast  of  the  foreM,  probably  the  tapir,  for  a  giant ;  and  there 
is  doubtless  some  truth  in  the  account  of  Padre  Tomas,  though  one 
cannot  credit  the  six  hundred  ambassadors;  the  river  that  could 
scarcely  l»c  wen  acroas;  the  garrisoned  port;  and  the  gold,  silver,  and 
pearls  of  an  alluvial  country. 

I^ut  the  defeated  followers  of  Ahnagro,  flying  from  before  the  face 
of  the  still  victorious  Pizarros,  did  find  to  the  eastward  of  Cuzco  a 
country  answering,  in  some  degree,  to  the  de8criptior\  of  the  fabulous  El 
Dorado.  Tliey  penetrated  into  the  valleys  of  CaraJtai/n,  ajid  fnmd 
there  wa.'^hings  of  gold  of  great  value.     They  subjugated  the  Indians ; 


INTRODUCTORY.  13 

built  the  towns  of  San  Juan  del  Oro,  San  Gaban,  Sandia,  &c. ;  and 
sent  large  quantities  of  gold  to  Spain.  On  one  occasion  they  sent  a 
mass  of  gold  in  the  shape  of  an  ox's  head,  and  of  the  weight  of  two 
hundred  pounds,  as  a  present  to  Charles  V.  The  Emperor,  in 
acknowledgment,  gave  the  title  of  "Royal  City"  to  the  town  of  San 
Juan  del  Oro,  and  ennobled  its  inhabitants.  The  Indians,  however, 
in  the  course  of  time,  revolted,  murdered  their  oppressors,  and  destroyed 
their  towns.  Up  to  the  last  three  years  this  has  been  a  sealed  country 
to  the  white  man.     I  shall  have  occasion  to  refer  to  it  again. 

"While  these  efforts  to  penetrate  the  Montana  to  the  eastward  of 
Cuzco  were  being  made,  Gonzalo  Pizarro  fitted  out  at  Quito  an  expe- 
dition consisting  of  350  Spaniards  and  4,000  Indians,  with  large  sup- 
plies of  provisions  and  live  stock.  All  who  have  read  the  brilliant 
pages  of  Prescott  know  the  history  of  this  expedition :  the  discovery 
of  cinnamon ;  the  treachery  of  Orellana ;  and  the  origin  of  the  present 
name  of  the  great  river.  I  shall  not  tread  upon  such  ground ;  but 
shall  content  myself  with  observing  that,  if  Pizarro  built  a  brig,  or  any- 
thing that  carried  a  mast,  he  either  embarked  low  down  upon  the  Napo, 
or,  what  I  rather  suspect,  the  Napo  was  a  much  larger  stream  then 
than  now. 

The  failure  of  this  expedition,  and  the  almost  incredible  sufferings 
of  the  party  who  composed  it,  could  not  deter  the  Spaniards  from 
tJieii"  search  for  El  Dorado.  In  1560  the  Marquis  of  Canete,  Viceroy 
of  Peru,  sent  Pedro  de  Ursoa  with  a  large  company  on  this  mission. 
This  ofiicer  marched  northward  from  Cuzco,  and  embarked  upon  the 
Huallaga.  At  Lamas,  a  small  town  near  that  river,  he  was  murdered 
by  his  lieutenant.  Lope  de  Aguirre,  who  determined  to  prosecute  the 
enterprise.  Aguirre  descended  the  Huallaga — and  the  Amazon  to  its 
mouth — coasted  along  the  shores  of  Guyana  and  Venezuela,  and  took 
possession  of  the  small  island  of  Marguerita.  There  raising  a  party, 
he  landed  at  Cumand,  witJi  the  purpose  of  conquering  an  empire  on 
the  main  land.  He  was,  however,  defeated  by  some  Spanish  troops 
•who  had  already  possession  of  the  country,  taken  prisoner,  carried  to 
Trinidad  and  hung, 

Aguirre  appears  to  have  been  a  bold  and  violent  man.  His  letter  to 
Philip  II,  published  in  Humboldt's  narrative,  is  indicative  of  his 
character.  He  says :  "  On  going  out  of  the  river  Amazon  we  landed 
at  an  island  called  La  Margaretta,  We  there  received  news  from 
Spain  of  the  great  faction  of  the  Lutherans.  This  news  frightened  us 
exceedingly.    We  found  among  us  one  of  that  faction ;  his  name  was 


14  INTRODUCTORY. 

Monteverde.  I  bad  him  cut  in  pieces,  as  was  just;  for,  believe  me, 
signor,  wherever  I  am,  people  live  according  to  the  law. 

"In  the  year  1559  the  Marquis  of  Cafiete  sent  to  the  Amazon  Pedro 
de  Ursoa,  a  Navarrese,  or  rather  a  Frenchman.  We  sailed  on  the 
largest  rivers  of  Peru  till  we  came  to  a  gulf  of  fresh  water.  We  had 
already  gone  300  leagues,  when  we  killed  that  bad  and  ambitious 
captain.  We  chose  a  Cavallero  of  Seville,  Fernando  de  Guzman,  for 
king ;  and  we  swore  fealty  to  him,  as  is  done  to  thyself,  I  was 
named  (juartermaster  general ;  and,  because  I  did  not  consent  to  all 
his  will,  he  wanted  to  kill  me.  But  I  killed  this  new  king,  the  captain 
of  his  guards,  his  lieutenant  general,  his  chaplain,  a  woman,  a  knight 
of  the  order  of  Rhodes,  two  ensigns,  and  five  or  six  domestics  of  the 
pretended  king.  I  then  resolved  to  punish  thy  ministers  and  thy 
auditors.  I  named  captains  and  sergeants.  These  again  wanted  to 
kill  me ;  but  I  had  them  all  hanged.  In  the  midst  of  these  adventures 
we  navigated  eleven  months,  till  we  reached  the  mouth  of  the  river. 
We  sailed  more  than  1,500  leagues.  God  knows  how  we  got  through 
that  great  mass  of  water.  I  advise  thee,  0  great  king,  never  to  send 
Spanish  fleets  into  that  cursed  river." 

The  following  story,  from  the  "  Viagero  Universal"  of  Ulloa,  shows 
his  barbarity  in  yet  more  revolting  colors.  It  appeai-s  that  in  all  his 
marches  he  carried  with  him  a  favorite  daughter.  When  defeated 
and  surrounded,  so  that  escape  was  impossible,  he  called  this  lady,  and 
addressing  her,  said  :  "I  had  hoped  to  make  thee  a  queen.  This  now  is 
impossible.  I  cannot  bear  that  you  should  live  to  be  pointed  at  as  the 
child  of  a  traitor  and  a  felon.  Thou  must  prepare  for  death  at  my 
hands."  She  requested  a  few  minutes  for  prayer,  which  was  granted ; 
but  her  father,  thinking  she  was  too  long  at  her  devotions,  tired  upon 
her  whilst  on  her  knees.  The  unfortunate  lady  staggered  towards  him  ; 
but  taking  her  by  the  hand  as  she  approached,  the  villain  plunged  his 
knife  into  her  bosom,  and  she  sank  at  his  feet,  murmuring  ''Jjasta 
Padre  Mio" — It  is  enough,  my  father. 

It  is  not  to  be  expected  that  information  of  an  exact  and  scientific 
character  could  bo  had  from  the  voyages  of  adventurers  like  these. 
They  were  mere  soldiers,  and  too  much  occu])ied  in  ditliculties  of  travel, 
confiicta  with  Indians,  ambitious  designs,  and  internal  dissentions,  to 
make  any  notes  of  tlie  topogi'aphy  or  productions  of  the  countries  they 
passed  through. 

But  a  task  that  had  baflled  the  ambition  and  power  of  the  Inc:us  and 
love  of  gold,  backed  by  Uie  indomitable  spirit  and  courage  i>f  the  liardy 
Spaniflh  soldier,  was  now  to  be  undertaken  by  men  who  were  urged  on 


INTRODUCTORY.  15 

by  a  yet  more  absorbing  passion  than  either  of  these.  I  mean  mission- 
ary zeal — the  love  of  propagating  the  faith. 

The  first  missionary  stations  established  in  the  Montana  were  founded 
by  the  Fathers  Cuxia  and  Cueva,  of  the  holy  company  of  the  Jesuits, 
in  1737. 

They  commenced  operations  at  the  village  of  St.  Francis  de  Borja, 
founded  by  Don  Pedro  de  Vaca,  in  1634,  when  he  conquered  and 
settled  the  province  of  Mainas,  under  the  direction  of  the  Viceroy  Don 
Francisco  de  Borja,  prince  of  Esquilache.  This  village  is  situated  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  Maranon,  not  far  below  where  it  breaks  its  way 
through  the  last  chain  of  hills  that  obstructs  its  course,  at  the  Pongo* 
de  Manseriche, 

In  the  same  year  (1637,)  according  to  Ulloa,  (whose  statements,  I 
think,  are  always  to  be  received  "cum  grano  salis")  Pedro  Texeira,  a 
Portuguese  captain,  ascended  the  Amazon  with  a  fleet  mounting  forty- 
seven  large  guns.  After  an  eight  months'  voyage  from  Para,  he  arrived 
at  the  port  of  Payamino,  or  Frayamixa,  in  the  province  of  Quixos,  on 
the  river  Napo.  I  am  unable  to  find  out  how  far  up  the  Napo  this  is ; 
but  Texeira,  leaving  his  fleet  there,  went  with  some  of  his  ofiicers  by 
land  to  Quito.  The  Royal  Audience  of  that  city  determined  to  send 
explorers  with  him  on  his  return,  and  the  Jesuit  Fathers,  Acuna  and 
Artieda,  were  selected  for  that  purpose,  and  directed  to  report  to  the 
King  of  Spain.  Passing  through  the  town  of  Archidona,  on  the  head- 
waters of  the  Napo,  with  much  suifering  they  joined  the  fleet  in  the  port 
of  Payamino,  and  after  a  voyage  of  ten  months,  by  land  and  water, 
arrived  at  Para,  whence  they  sailed  for  Spain. 

The  Spanish  government,  then  occupied  with  the  rebellion  of  Portugal, 
could  lend  no  aid  to  the  missionaries,  and  Father  Artieda  returned  to 
Quito  in  1643.  He  appealed  to  the  Royal  Audience,  and  to  the  college 
of  the  Jesuits  at  that  city,  for  help  to  the  missions,  and  the  latter  insti- 
tution furnished  him  with  five  or  six  missionaries.  These  were  well 
received  by  the  Indians,  and  prosecuted  their  labors  with  such  success, 
that  in  the  year  1666  they  had  formed  thirteen  large  and  populous 
settlements  in  the  country,  bordering  on  the  upper  Maranon,  and  near 
the  mouths  of  the  Pastaza,  Ucayali,  and  Huallaga. 

About  this  time  the  Franciscans  commenced  pushing  their  explora- 
tions and  missionary  operations  from  Lima,  by  the  way  of  Tarma  and 
Jauxa,  into  the  Montana,  drained  by  the  headwaters  of  the  Ucayali ; 
and  here  (thanks  to  Father  Sobreviela)  we  begin  to  get  a  little  topo- 

*  Pongo  means  a  rapid. 


#• 


16  INTRODUCTORY. 

graphical  informatioa ;  and  the  map  may  now  be  consulted  in  elucida- 
tion of  the  text. 

In  1GT3  the  Franciscan  Father  Manuel  Biedma  penetrated  i:xto  the 
Montana  from  Jauxa,  by  the  way  of  Comas  and  Andamarca,  and 
established  the  missionary  station  of  Santa  Cruz  de  Sonomora,  on  the 
river  Paiif/oa,  a  tributary  of  the  Uciyali. 

In  1U81  ho  opened  a  mule  road  from  Andamarca  to  Sonomora,  and 
m  1C84  one  from  Sonomora  to  the  junction  of  the  Pangoa  with  the 
Perene.  In  1C86  he  embarked  at  this  place  with  Antonio  Vital^  and 
descended  the  Ucayali  to  near  the  junction  of  the  Pachitea.  Here  lie 
established  a  station  called  "»Sa«  Miguel  de  los  Conibos"  and,  leaving 
Vital  in  charge,  he  attempted  to  ascend  the  river  again,  but  was  killed 
by  the  savages.  Vital,  hearing  of  his  death,  and  seeing  himself 
abandoned,  without  hope  of  succor,  determined  to  commit  himself  to 
the  downward  current;  and,  embarking  in  a  canoe  with  six  Indians, 
he  soon  reached  the  Jesuit  missionary  stations  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali.  Directed  by  these  missionaries,  he  ascended  the  Marnfion, 
the  lluallaga,  and  the  river  Mayo  as  far  as  it  is  navigable,  lie  then 
disembarked,  travelled  by  land  through  Moyohaviba  and  CfMchapoyas^ 
and  passing  through  Lima  arrived  at  Jauxa,  whence  he  had  set  out 
with  Father  Biedma. 

About  this  time  the  Franciscans,  also  penetrating  from  Tarma  by  the 
Talleys  of  Chanchamayo  and  Vitoc,  established  the  missions  of  the 
Ccrro  de  la  Sal  and  the  Pajonal.  The  Cerro  de  la  Sal  is  described  as 
a  mountain  of  rock  and  red  earth,  with  veins  of  salt  of  thirty  yards  in 
breadth,  to  which  the  Indians,  for  many  miles  round,  were  in  the  habit 
of  repairing  for  their  supply.  The  Pajonal  is  a  great  grassy  plain, 
enclosed  between  the  river  Pachitea  and  a  great  bond  of  the  Ucayali. 
It  is  about  one  hundred  and  twenty  miles  in  length  from  north  to  south, 
and  ninety  from  east  to  west ;  and  I  judge  from  its  name,  and  some 
imperfect  descriptions  of  it,  that  it  is  a  very  fine  grazing  country. 

In  the  year  1712  Padre  Francisco  de  San  Jose  established  a  college, 
"de  propaganda  fide,"  at  the  village  of  Ocopa,  in  the  Andes,  a  few 
leagues  from  Jauxa.  By  his  zeal  and  abilities  he  induced  many  Euro- 
pean monk^,  of  the  order  of  St.  Francis,  to  come  over  and  join  him  in 
Lis  missionary  labors.  These  men  labored  so  successfully,  that  up 
to  1742  they  had  established  ten  towns  in  the  Pajonal  and  Cerro  de 
la  Sal,  and  had  under  their  spiritual  direction  ten  thoiu^aiid  converts. 
But  in  this  year  an  Indian  of  Cuzco,  who  had  been  converted  and  bap- 
tized as  Juan  Santos,  apostatized  from  the  faith ;  and,  taking  upon 
himself  the  stylo  and  title  of  Inca,  and  the  name  of  Atahtiallpa,  excited 
to  rebellion  all  the  Indians  of  the  plain,  and  swept  away  every  trace  of 


INTRODUCTORY.  17 

the  missionary  rule ;  some  seventy  or  eighty  of  the  priests  perishing 
in  the  wreck. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  no  distaste  for  the  Catholic  religion  induced 
this  rebellion ;  for  in  the  year  1Y50,  eight  years  afterward,  the  Marquis 
of  Minahermosa,  marching  into  this  country  for  the  punishment  of  the 
rebels,  found  the  church  at  Quimiri,  on  the  river  Perene,  in  perfect 
order,  with  candles  burning  before  the  images.  He  burned  the  town 
and  church.  And  six  years  after  this,  when  another  entrance  into  this 
country  was  made  by  Gen.  Bustamente,  he  found  the  town  rebuilt,  and  a 
large  cross  erected  in  the  middle  of  the  plaza,  or  public  square.  I  hav« 
had  occasion  myself  to  notice  the  respect  and  reverence  of  these  Indians 
for  their  pastors,  and  their  delight  in  participating  in  the  ceremonial, 
and  sense-striking  worship  of  the  Roman  Church. 

It  remains  but  to  speak  of  the  conversions  of  the  Ucayali,  in  the 
Pampa  del  Sacramento,  made  by  the  Franciscans  of  Ocopa,  and  which 
are  the  only  trophies  that  now  remain  of  the  zeal,  patience,  and  suffering 
of  these  devoted  men. 

The  missions  established  on  the  Ucayali  by  Fathers  Biedma  and 
Caballero,  in  the  years  1673  to  1686,  were  lost  by  insurrections  of  the 
Indians  in  1*704.  In  1726,  the  converted  Indians  about  the  head  of 
canoe  navigation  on  the  Huallaga,  (the  tidings  of  the  gospel  were  first 
carried  to  these  from  Huanuco,  by  Felipe  Luyendo,  in  1631,)  crossing 
the  hills  that  border  that  river  on  its  eastern  bank,  discovered  a  wooded 
plain,  which  was  named  Pampa  del  Sacramento,  from  the  day  of  its 
discovery  being  the  festival  of  Corpus  Cristi.  This  was  a  new  field 
for  the  missionary;  and  by  1760,  the  Fathers  of  the  college  at  Ocopa 
had  penetrated  across  this  plain  to  the  Ucayali,  and  re-established 
the  missions  of  Manoa,  the  former  spiritual  conquests  of  Biedma.  To 
get  at  these  missions  with  less  difficulty,  expeditions  were  made  from 
Huanuco  by  the  way  of  Pozuzu,  Mayro,  and  the  Pachitea,  in  the  years 
1763  to  1767.  Several  missionaries  lost  their  lives  by  the  Caskibos 
Indians  of  the  Pachitea ;  and  in  this  last  year  the  Indians  of  the 
Ucayali  rose  upon  the  missionaries,  killed  nine  of  them,  and  broke  up 
their  settlements.  But  not  for  this  were  they  to  be  deterred.  In  1790 
Father  Narciso  Girbal,  with  two  others,  under  the  direction  of  Sobre- 
viela,  then  guardian  of  the  college  at  Ocopa,  went  down  the  Pachitea 
and  again  established  these  missions,  of  which  there  remain  three  at 
this  time,  called,  respectively,  Sarayacu,  Tierra  Blanca,  and  Sta. 
Catalina. 

The  difficulties  of  penetrating  into  these  countries,  where  the  path  is 
to  be  broken  for  the  first  time,  can  only  be  conceived  by  one  who  has 
2 


18  INTRODUCTORY.  * 

travelled  over  the  roads  already  trodden.  The  broken  and  precipitous 
mountain  track — the  deep  morass — the  thick  and  tangled  forest — the 
danger  from  Indians,  wild  beasts,  and  reptiles — the  scarcity  o{  provi- 
sions— the  exposure  to  the  almost  appalling  rains — and  the  navigation 
of  the  impetuous  and  rock-obstructed  river,  threatening  at  every  moment 
shipwreck  to  the  frail  canoe — form  obstacles  that  might  dauntany  heart 
but  that  of  the  gold-hunter  or  the  missionary. 

The  most  remarkable  voyage  down  the  Amazon  was  made  by  a 
woman.  Madame  Godin  des  Odonnais,  wife  of  one  of  the  French 
commissioner  who  was  sent  with  Condamine  to  measure  an  arc  of 
the  meridian  near  Quito,  started  in  1769,  from  Rio  Bamha,  in  Ecuador, 
to  join  her  husband  in  Cayenne  by  the  route  of  the  Amazon.  She 
embarked  at  Canelos,  on  the  Borhonaza,  with  a  company  of  eight  per- 
sons, two,  besides  herself,  being  females.  On  the  third  day  the  Indiana 
•who  conducted  their  canoe  deserted :  another  Indian,  whom  they  found 
sick  in  a  hovel  near  the  bank,  and  employed  as  pilot,  fell  from  the 
canoe  in  endeavoring  to  pick  up  the  hat  of  one  of  the  party,  and  was 
drowned. 

The  canoe,  under  their  own  management,  soon  capsized,  and  tliey 
lost  all  their  clothing  and  provisions.  Three  men  of  the  party  now 
started  for  Andoas^  on  the  Pastaza,  which  they  supposed  themselvea  to 
be  within  five  or  six  days  of,  and  never  returned.  The  party  left 
behind,  now  consisting  of  the  three  females  and  two  brothers  of 
Madame  Godin,  la.'^hed  a  few  logs  together  and  attempted  again  to 
navigate ;  but  their  frail  vessel  soon  went  to  pieces  by  striking  against 
the  fallen  trees  in  the  river.  They  then  attempted  to  journey  on  foot 
along  the  banks  of  the  river,  but  finding  the  growth  here  too  thick  and 
tangled  for  them  to  make  any  way,  they  struck  oft'  into  the  forest  iu 
hopes  of  finding  a  less  obstructed  path. 

They  were  soon  lost:  despair  took  possession  of  them,  and  they 
perished  miserably  of  hunger  and  exhaustion.  Madame  Godin,  recov- 
ering from  a  swoon,  which  she  supposes  to  have  been  of  many  hours' 
duration,  took  the  shoes  from  her  dead  brother's  feet  and  starte<l  to 
walk,  she  knew  not  whither.  Iler  cU>thes  were  soon  torn  to  rags,  lior 
body  lacerated  by  her  exertions  in  forcing  her  way  through  the  tangli-d 
and  thorny  undergrowth,  and  she  was  kept  constantly  in  a  state  of 
deadly  terror  by  the  howl  of  the  tiger  and  the  hiss  of  the  serpent.  It 
is  wonderful  that  she  preserved  lier  reason.  Eight  terrible  days  and 
nights  did  she  wander  alone  in  the  howling  wildernes's,  supported  by  a 
few  berries  and  birds'  eggs.  Truvidentially  (one  cannot  say  accidentally) 
she  struck  the  river  at  a  point  where  two  Indians  (a  man  and  a  woman) 


INTRODUCTORY.  X9 

were  just  launching  a  canoe.  They  received  her  with  kindness,  furnished 
her  with  food,  gave  her  a  coarse  cotton  petticoat,  which  she  preserved 
for  years  afterwards  as  a  memorial  of  their  goodness,  and  carried  her 
in  their  canoe  to  Andoas,  whence  she  found  a  passage  down  the  river  * 
and  finally  joined  her  husband.  Her  hair  turned  gray  from  suffering, 
and  she  could  never  hear  the  incidents  of  her  voyage  alluded  to  without 
a  feeling  of  horror  that  bordered  on  insanity. 


20  INTRODUCTORY. 

CHAPTER  II. 

INTRODUCTORY. 

Orders— Investigation  of  routes— Lake  Kogoaguado— River  Bcni— Chancha- 
mayo— Cuzco  route — River  Madre  dc  Dios — Gold  niiuee  of  Carabaya — Route 
through  the  cities  of  Truxillo,  Caxamarca,  Chachapoyas,  Moyobamba,  &.c. — 
Preparations  for  the  journey — The  start. 

On  the  4th  of  April,  1851,  Lieutenant  Lardner  Gibbon,  of  the  navy, 
arrived  at  Lima,  and  delivered  me  orders  from  the  Navy  Department,  of 
■which  the  following  is  a  copy : 

Na-vt  Department,  ^e6r«ary  15,  1851. 
Siu:  The  department  is  about  to  confide  to  you  a  most  important  and 
delicate  duty,  which  will  call  for  the  exercise  of  all  those  high  qualities 
and  attainments,  on  account  of  which  you  have  been  selected. 

The  government  desires  to  be  put  in  possession  of  certain  information 
relating-  to  the  valley  of  the  river  Amazon,  in  which  term  is  included 
the  entire  basin,  or  water-shed,  drained  by  that  river  and  its  tributaries. 
This  desire  extends  not  only  to  the  present  condition  of  that  valley, 
■with  regard  to  the  navigability  of  its  streams;  to  the  number  and  con- 
dition, both  industrial  and  social,  of  its  inhabitants,  their  trade  and  pro- 
ducts; its  climate,  soil,  and  productions;  but  also  to  its  capacities  for 
cultivation,  and  to  the  character  and  extent  of  its  undeveloped  commer- 
cial resources,  whether  of  the  field,  the  forest,  tlic  river,  or  the  mine. 

You  will,  fur  the  purpose  of  obtaining  such  informatit'ii,  procxjed 
across  the  Cordillera,  and  explore  the  Amazon  from  its  source  to  its 
mouth. 

Passed  Midshipman  Lardner  Gibbon,  a  prudent  and  intelligent  officer, 
has  been  selected  to  accompany  you  on  this  service,  and  is  instructed  to 
report  accordingly. 

Tliis,  together  with  a  few  instruments,  necessary  for  such  an  expedi- 
tion, will  be  delivered  to  you  by  him. 

Being  joined  by  him,  you  will  coninicnce  to  make  such  arriuigemontu 
as  may  be  necessary  for  crossing  the  Andes  and  descending  the  Ama- 
zon; and  having  completed  them,  you  will  then  proceed  on  your  journey 
without  further  orders. 

The  route  by  which  you  may  reach  the  Amazon  river  is  left  to  your 
discretion.  Whether  you  will  doscond  the  Ucayali,  or  the  Iluallaga,  or 
any  other  of  the  I'eruvian  tributaries,  or  whether  you  will  cross  over  into 


INTRODUCTORY.  21 

Bolivia,  and,  passing  through  the  province  of  Yongas,  embark  on  the 
Mamore  or  Ytenes,  or  whether  you  will  try  the  Beni  or  any  other  route 
to  the  Madeira,  and  thence  to  the  Amazon,  the  state  of  the  information 
which  you  have  collected,  under  a  former  order,  will  enable  you  to  decide 
more  judiciously  than  it  is  possible  for  the  department,  with  the  meagre 
state  of  its  information  upon  the  subject,  to  do. 

It  is  not  desired  that  you  should  select  any  route  by  which  you  and 
your  party  would  be  exposed  to  savage  hostility,  beyond  your  means  of 
defence  and  protection. 

Neither  is  it  desirable  that  your  party  should  be  so  lai-ge,  on  the  one 
hand,  as  to  excite  the  suspicion  of  the  people,  or  give  offence  to  the 
authorities,  of  the  country  through  which  you  may  pass,  nor  so  smalJ, 
on  the  other,  as  to  endanger  its  success. 

You  are,  therefore,  authorized  to  employ  a  cook,  servant,  guide,  and 
interpreter,  and  to  provide  them  with  such  arms  as  it  is  customary  only 
for  travellers  generally,  in  that  part  of  the  world,  to  carry  for  their  own 
protection.     And  these  arms  you  will  have  returned  to  you  at  Par^. 

The  Na^'y  Agent  at  Lima  has  been  instructed  to  furnish,  upon  your 
requisition,  the  necessary  articles  for  the  outfit  of  yourself  and  party,  and 
to  honor  your  draft  for  a  sum  not  exceeding  five  thousand  dollars,  to 
cover  your  expenses  by  the  way.  As  these  expenses  will  be  mostly  for 
mules  and  arrieros,  boats  and  boats'  crews,  it  is  supposed  that  the  sum 
named  will  I  3  much  more  than  suflScient.  You  will  use  of  it  only  for 
the  necessary  expenses  of  the  party. 

The  geographical  situation  and  the  commercial  position  of  the  Ama- 
zon indicate  the  future  importance,  to  this  country,  of  the  free  navigation 
of  that  river. 

To  enable  the  government  to  form  a  proper  estimate  as  to  the  degree 
of  that  importance,  present  and  prospective,  is  the  object  of  your  mission. 

You  will,  therefore,  avail  yourself  of  the  best  sources  of  information 
that  can  be  had  in  answer  to  any  or  all  of  the  following  questions : 

What  is  the  present  condition  of  the  silver  mines  of  Peru,  and 
Bolivia — their  yield ;  how  and  by  whom  are  they  principally  wrought  ? 

What  is  the  machinery  used,  whence  obtained,  and  how  transported  ? 

Are  mines  of  this  metal,  which  are  not  worked,  known  to  exist  ? 
What  impulse  would  the  free  navigation  of  the  Amazon  give  to  the 
working  of  those  mines  ?  What  are  their  capacities;  and  if  the  naviga^ 
tion  of  that  river  and  its  tributaries  were  open  to  commerce,  what  effect 
would  it  have  in  turning  the  stream  of  silver  from  those  mines  down 
these  rivers  ?  With  what  description  of  craft  can  they  be  navigated 
respectively  ? 


22  INTRODUCTORY. 

What  inducements  are  offered  by  the  laws  of  Peru  and  Bolivia  for 
emigrants  to  settle  in  the  eastern  provinces  of  those  two  republics,  and 
what  is  the  amount  and  character  of  the  population  already  there  ? 
What  the  productions?  the  value  of  the  trade  with  tliem — of  what 
articles  does  it  consist,  where  manufactured,  how  introduced,  and  at 
what  charges  upon  prime  cost  1 

What  are  the  staple  productions  for  which  the  climate  and  soil  of 
the  valley  of  the  Amazon,  in  different  parts,  are  adapted?  AMiat  the 
state  of  tillage ;  of  what  class  are  the  laborers ;  the  value  of  a  day's 
work ;  the  yield  per  acre  and  per  hand  of  the  various  staples,  such  as 
matte,  coca  and  cocoa,  sugar,  rice,  chinchona,  hemp,  cotton.  India- 
rubber,  coffee,  balsams,  drugs,  spices,  dyes,  and  ornamental  woods ;  the 
season  for  planting  and  gathering;  the  price  at  the  place  of  produc- 
tion, and  at  the  principal  commercial  mart;  the  mode  and  means  of 
transportation?  with  every  other  item  of  information  that  is  calculated 
to  interest  a  nautical  and  commercial  people. 

You  will  make  such  geographical  and  scientific  observations  by  the 
way  as  may  be  consistent  with  the  main  object  of  the  expedition, 
always  bearing  in  mind  that  these  are  merely  incidental,  and  that  no 
part  of  the  main  objects  of  the  expedition  is  to  be  interfered  with  by 
them. 

It  is  desirable  that  you  should  bring  home  with  you  specimens  or 
samples  of  the  various  articles  of  produce  from  the  Amazon  river, 
together  w  itli  such  seeds  or  plants  as  might  probably  be  introduced  into 
this  country  with  advantage. 

Arriving  at  Para,  you  will  embark  by  the  first  opportunity  for  th« 
United  States,  and  report  in  person  to  this  department. 

Wishing  you  a  pleasant  journey  and  a  safe  return  to  your  coimtry 
and  friends, 

I  am,  respectfully,  your  obedient  servant, 

WILL.  A.  GRAUAM. 

Lieut.  William  L.  IIerxdon,  U.  S.  Navt,  Peru,  or  Bolivia. 


As  the  choice  of  route  was  thus  left  to  ray  discretion,  this,  in  con- 
nexion with  the  best  and  most  efficient  mode  of  carrying  out  my  instruc- 
tions, became  an  object  of  much  consideration  with  me. 

As  I  had  some  time  previously  received  intimation  of  the  intention 
of  tlie  dfpartment  to  issue  such  orders,  whilst  in  Valparaiso  and  San- 
tiago I  bad  sought  what  information  was  to  bo  had  there,  and  con- 
versed with  many  persons  regarding  the  routes  through  Bolivia  and 
the  navigability  of  the  Bolivian  tribuLariea  of  the  Amazon.     Two  into- 


INTRODUCTORY. 


23 


resting  routes  presented  themselves  througli  this  country:  one  from    . 
Cochrbamba,  by  the  river  Mamore,  a  sketch  of  which  had  been  given 
me  by  Mr.  Bridges ;  and  the  other  by  the  Beni,  (also  a  confluent  of  the 
Madeira,)  which  seems  nearly  a  "  terra  incognita." 

Palacios,  an  officer  of  the  Bolivian  government,  who  had  made  some 
explorations  in  the  country  between  the  Mamore  and  Beni,  and  who 
visited  and  navigated  on  the  Lake  Rogoaguado,  (the  existence  of  which 
has  been  a  subject  of  dispute  among  geographers,)  describes  the  Beni, 
between  its  sources  and  Los  Reyes,  (about  half  the  course  of  the  river,) 
as  being  much  obstructed  by  shoals,  with  very  narrow  channels,  and 
broken  "up  into  rapids,  of  which  he  enumerates  twenty-two.  He 
thinks,  however,  that  flat-bottomed  iron  boats  would  overcome  many 
of  the  difficulties,  and  navigate  an  immense  distance  up.  He  says 
that  in  some  parts  of  the  course  of  the  river  are  found  veins  of  silver 
and  gold,  salt  springs,  coal,  lime,  and  (in  Tequije)  diamonds.  I  think 
that  his  description  of  the  Lake  Rogoaguado  would  be  a  valuable 
contribution  to  geography;  for  though  it  is  evident  that  his  account  is 
not  exact,  or  even  correct,  yet  it  settles  the  point  that  there  is  such  a 
lake,  and  that  it  does  not  give  rise  to  many  of  the  large  rivers  that 
empty  into  the  Amazon,  as  was  long  supposed,  and  as  is  so  represented 
in  many  maps.     I  give  a  translation : 

"The  supreme  government,  being  desirous  of  ascertaining  if  the 
great  Lake  Rogoaguado  had  communication  with  the  Beni  or  pro- 
ceeded from  it,  directed  me  to  explore  it  for  the  purpose  of  facilitating 
communication  between  that  river  and  the  Mamore.  For  this  purpose 
I  directed  the  construction  of  a  boat  and  commenced  my  journey. 
I  set  out  from  the  town  of  Uxaltacion,  (a  village  on  the  Mamore,  some 
distance  above  its  junction  with  the  Madeira,)  the  nearest  point,  and 
directed  my  course  W.  N.  W.  15  mi.es,  to  the  estate  {estancia)  of 
Santa  Cruz,  passing  (a  mile  and  a  half  from  this  point)  the  river 
Imyani,  which  runs  to  the  N.  E.,  and  appears  navigable.  Its  sources 
are  unknown ;  but  it  is  supposed  that  it  rises  in  some  swamps  situated 
in  the  flat  country  about  Reyes,  or  that  it  runs  from  the  Beni.  At  this 
estate  of  Santa  Cruz  there  is  a  somewhat  flat  hill  of  300  yards  in 
height,  and  composed  of  white  'soroche,'  the  generator  (criadero)  of 
gold.  It  is  constantly  covered  with  gi-ass  and  trees,  among  which  are 
found  those  producing  the  India-rubber. 

"Hence  I  directed  my  march  W.  i  N.,  to  the  estate  denominated 
San  Carios,  which  is  distant  twenty-four  miles  from  the  first,  and  is 
situated  among  morasses,  with  some  eminences,  the  good  pastures  of 
which  maintain  large  flocks  of  cattle.    The  course  from  here  was  N.  W., 


24  INTRODUCTORY. 

and  at  the  distance  of  nine  miles  I  encountered  the  Lake  '  Ibachuna, 
or,  of  the  winds,  which  is  twelve  miles  broad  and  twenty-four  long 
from  north  to  south,  and  whoso  outlet  runs  among  swamps  inLo  Lake 
Rogoaguado,  known  likewise  by  the  name  of  Domii,  on  whose  banks 
yet  exist  traces  of  the  ancient  tiibe  of  the  Cayubabos,  who  now  form 
the  population  of  the  town  of  Exaltacion. 

"Not  finding  the  boat  which  I  had  ordered  finished,  I  embarked  in 
a  small  canoe,  and  directed  my  course  towards  two  islands  in  the  lake, 
about  three  miles  from  the  shore.  These  are  elevated  a  little  above  the 
surface  of  the  lake,  which  has  not  more  than  a  fathom  (braza,  60  inches) 
of  depth  in  this  part,  and  are  covered  with  an  impenetrable  thicket.  On 
the  following  day  I  launched  the  boat;  it  was  33  feet  (12  varas)  long, 
3§-  feet  wide,  and  2f  feet  deep.  It  rocked  much,  and  I  directed  two 
small  canoes  to  be  lashed,  one  on  each  side,  to  serve  as  counterpoises. 

"  I  weighed  from  my  port  with  a  course  N.  W.  ^  N.  At  the  distance 
of  fifteen  miles  I  encountered  a  stream  wliich  served  as  an  outlet,  and 
was  connected  with  anotlier  small  lake,  called  Yapacha,  towards  the  N.  E. 
I  changed  the  course,  coasting  along  W.  N.  W.  for  nine  miles,  continuing 
on  other  nine  S.  W.  ^  S. ;  thence  I  changed  to  S.  twenty-four  miles ;  to 
S.  W.  four  and  a  half;  to  S.  ^  E.  thirteen  and  a  half.  So  that  I  sailed 
upon  a  bow-line"  (much  he  knew  about  a  bow-line)  "with  a  de})th  of 
2^  fathoms,  (brazadas,)  running  six  miles  the  hour.  (!I) 

"  At  the  capes,  or  prominent  points,  I  landed,  and  observed  that  the 
belt  of  woods  surrounding  the  lake  was  narrow ;  and  that  outside  of 
this  the  pasturages  were  so  great  that  they  formed  a  horizon,  or  could 
not  be  seen  across.  On  one  occasion  I  set  firo  to  them,  and  saw 
towards  the  N.  W.  the  answering  smoke  of  the  fires  of  the  Chacobos 
savages.  The  country  of  this  people  was  afterwards  explored.  Tlio 
tribe  was  found  to  consist  of  three  hundred  souls ;  and  among  them 
were  people  white  and  ruddy. 

"I  continued  on  E.  -^  N.,  and  having  navigated  twelve  miles,  the 
north  wind  came  on  so  strong,  and  raised  such  a  sea,  that  I  was  in 
danger  of  shipwreck.  I  therefore  landed,  and  remained  twenty-four 
hours,  employing  the  time  in  examining  the  mouth  of  the  rivulet  called 
Ibachuna,  where  there  were  large  morjisses. 

"  I  travelled  the  next  day  with  oars  against  the  wind,  bailing  the 
wat<?r  from  the  boat  continually.  The  course  was  N.  N.  E. ;  and 
eighteen  miles  brought  me  to  the  point  whence  I  originally  sailed. 

"The  lake  is  of  good  and  eltjar  water.  It  has  a  bottom  of  oxiilo  of 
iron,  with  2^  fathoms  (brazadas)  of  water.  There  are  many  li>h  and 
rays,  crocodiles  and  porpoises. 


INTRODUCTORY.  25 

"In  tlie  woods  tliere  are  almonds  of  various  kinds  and  superior  qual- 
ity. Towards  the  east  there  is  another  small  lake  called  Puaja,  whose 
waters  (united  with  those  of  Eogoaguado  and  Yapacha)  form  the  river 
Yatachico,  or  Black  river,  which  is  a  confluent  of  the  Mamore.  I  pre- 
sume the  Yata  Grande  is  only  an  arm  of  the  Beni  from  the  clearness 
of  its  waters,  from  the  declivity  of  the  land  towards  the  Mamore,  and 
because  its  sources  are  not  found  in  the  Steppes,  (Llanos)  there  only 
arising  from  these  the  Black  river  of  the  Lake  Rogagua  of  Reyes,  which 
is  a  confluent  of  the  Beni. 

"The  navigation  of  the  Yata  Grande  is  a  matter  of  interest;  and  I 
would  have  attempted  it  when  I  descended  the  Mamore  had  I  had  at 
my  disposal  an  armed  party,  which  is  absolutely  necessary  on  account 
of  the  multitude  of  savages  which  dwell  upon  its  banks ;  nevertheless,  I 
did  ascend  to  its  first  rapids,  where  there  is  an  abundance  of  pitch. 
The  L-uyani  should  be  explored  for  the  same  reasons  as  the  Yata 
Grande." 

It  was  suggested  by  Mr.  Pissis  that  I  should  take  the  route  of  the 
Beni  on  account  of  the  honor  of  discovery,  and  the  addition  I  should 
make  to  geographical  knowledge ;  and  General  Ballivian,  ex-President 
of  Bolivia,  who  was  then  in  Valparaiso  forming  plans  for  revolution  in 
that  country,  which  he  afterwards  endeavored  to  execute,  but  without 
success,  strongly  urged  me  to  take  one  of  the  Bolivian  rivers ;  but  an 
unanswerable  objection  to  this  in  my  mind  was,  that  such  a  route 
would  bring  me  into  the  Amazon  very  low  down,  and  make  the  neces- 
sity of  ascending  that  river  to  its  sources;  a  work  which  would  occupy 
years  in  its  execution,  and  probably  break  down  a  much  stronger  man 
than  I  am. 

Upon  my  arrival  in  Lima,  I  immediately  set  to  work  to  investigate 
routes.  The  best  informed  people  of  Peru  are  wide  awake  to  the  im- 
portance of  opening  an  inland  communication  between  their  territo- 
ries to  the  east  of  the  Andes  and  the  Atlantic,  and  many  attempts 
have  been  made  to  secure  the  aid  of  government  in  the  opening  of  such 
a  communication.  From  time  immemorial  a  jealousy  has  existed  upon 
tJiis  subject  between  the  people  inhabiting  points  on  the  three  most 
feasible  routes;  that  is,  that  of  the  valley  of  Huanuco,  that  of  Chancha- 
mayo,  and  that  of  Paucartambo,  to  the  eastward  of  Cuzco.  This 
jealousy  originated  in  the  fact  that  the  valley  of  Huanuco,  the  first 
settled,  at  one  time  supplied  all  the  coea  that  was  used  in  Peru.  The 
people  of  that  valley  saw  in  the  opening  of  the  Montana  of  Chancha- 
mayo  a  rival  interest  that  would  decrease  their  gains,  and  at  one  time 
they  had  such  interest  at  Court  as  to  get  an  order  dismantling  the 


26  INTRODUCTORY. 

fort  that  had  been  built  in  Cliancliamayo,  and  breakino;  up  the  roads. 
The  Tarma  people  never  forgave  this,  and  in  1808  Urrutia,  the  Inten- 
dente  of  that  province,  addressed  a  pamphlet  to  Abascal,  the  Viceroy, 
setting  forth  the  advantages  of  the  Chanchamayo,  and  depreciating  the 
Mayro  or  lluanuco  route  to  the  Montana. 

"  Surely,  surely,"  says  he,  (and  I  entirely  agree  with  him,)  "  nothing 
but  the  especial  concitation  of  the  devil  (thus  interfering  with  the  con- 
version of  the  heathen)  could  have  induced  the  government  to  so 
suicidal  a  step  as  to  break  up  so  thriving  a  colony  as  that  at  Chan- 
chamayo." lie  says  that  he  can  Scarcely  refrain  from  tears  at  think- 
ing to  what  it  would  have  grown  in  the  twenty-five  years  that  have 
been  lost  between  then  and  now.  He  writes  with  earuestne'«;  and 
probably  would  have  succeeded  in  obtaining  the  aid  of  the  government, 
but  that  the  cloud  of  the  revolution  was  then  above  the  horizon,  and 
Viceroy  and  Intendento  soon  had  other  matters  to  think  of. 

In  1827  General  La  Mar  again  ordered  the  opening  of  the  Chan- 
chamayo country.  The  direction  of  the  work  wsis  given  to  my 
acquaintance  and  very  good  friend  General  Otero,  then  prefect  of  the 
department.  He  pushed  the  matter  of  opening  the  roads  with  suc- 
cess for  some  time ;  but  the  roughness  of  the  country,  the  difficulty  of 
obtaining  supplies,  and  the  steady  hostility  of  the  Indians,  interposed 
so  many  obstacles,  that  the  work  languished  and  was  finally  aban- 
doned ;  the  Indians  taking  possession  of  the  few  plantations  that  had 
been  made. 

In  1847,  however,  the  people  of  Tarma  resolved  to  take  advantage 
of  so  fine  a  country  so  near  them.  They  republished  the  pamphlet  of 
Urrutia;  made  an  appeal  to  the  government,  and  themselves  broke 
into  the  country  under  the  lead  of  Colonel  Pablo  Salaverry.  They 
drove  the  Indians  over  the  rivers  of  Chanchamayo  and  Tulumayo; 
and  Don  Ramon  Caslilla,  the  President,  (ever  alive  to  the  interests  of 
his  country,)  sent  a  company  of  eighty  soldiers,  under  a  captain  in  the 
navy  named  I^ocl,  with  engineers,  artificers,  tools  and  supplies,  and 
constructed  the  little  stockade  fort  of  San  Ramon,  at  the  junction  of 
these  rivers.  Under  the  protection  of  this  fort  the  Tarma  people  have 
begun  to  clear  and  cultivate,  and  the  former  desert  is  now  beautiful 
with  the  waving  cane,  the  yellow  blossom  of  the  cotton,  and  the  red 
berrj'  of  the  coffee. 

Juan  Cenlcno,  deputy  in  Congress  from  Cu7xo,  in  strong  and  earnest 
terms  advocated  the  propriety  of  taking  the  Cuzco  route,  telling  me 
tliat  ten  thousand  dollars,  appropriated  by  the  govornraent  for  (ho 
BuiTcy  of  the  river  Amaruinayo,  now  lay  in  the  treasury,  wailing  the 


INTRODUCTORY.  27 

proper  time  and  man  to  take  it  up ;  and  that  be  had  no  doubt  but  that 
I  might  organize  a  surveying  party  and  employ  this  money  for  that 
purpose.  It  was  a  tempting  proposition,  but  I  feared  the  proverbially 
dilatory  action  of  the  Peruvian  government ;  and  what  I  had  seen  in  the 
journals  of  Smyth  and  Castelnau  regarding  the  efficiency  of  the  co- 
operation of  Peruvian  officials,  revived  school-boy  recollections  and 
brought  to  my  mind  Virgil's 

"  Non  tali  auxilio ;  nee  defensoribus  istis." 

This  route  had,  moreover,  the  same  objections  as  that  by  the  Bolivian 
tributaries ;  that  is,  that  it  would  bring  me  into  the  Amazon  too  low 
down.  It  is,  however,  a  route  of  great  importance,  and  well  w6rth 
investigation.  Seiior  Centeno  placed  in  my  hands  a  pamphlet  ("  El 
hrillmite  porvenir  de  Cuzco''')  written  by  the  confessor  of  his  family,  an 
Italian  Franciscan,  Father  Julian  Boho  de  Hevello,  in  which  the  ad- 
vantages of  this  route  are  strongly  and  ably  argued ;  and  which  argu- 
ment induced  the  above-mentioned  appropriation  by  the  Peruvian 
government.  The  Father  declares  that  he  himself,  in  visiting  the  val- 
leys of  Paucartambo,  in  company  with  Don  Jose  Miguel  Medina,  pre- 
fect of  the  pro\ance,  saw  from  the  heights  of  Acobamba  an  interminable 
horizon  of  woods  towards  the  N.  E. ;  and  in  the  midst  of  this  immense 
plain,  the  winding  course  of  the  great  navigable  river  "  Madre  de  Dios.^ 
He  labors  to  prove  that  this  Madre  de  Dios  is  the  same  river  which, 
under  the  name  of  Purus,  enters  the  Amazon  a  few  days'  journey  above 
the  Barra  do  Rio  Negro. 

There  is  no  doubt  that  there  is  a  great  unknown  river  in  these  parts. 
Every  expedition  made  into  this  country  brought  back  accounts  of  it, 
and  represented  it  under  various  names — such  as  Amarumayu  ;  Tono  ; 
Mano ;  Inambiri ;  Guariguari ;  and  Madre  de  Dios,  according  to  the 
nomenclature  of  the  various  tribes  that  live  upon  its  banks — as  great 
and  containing  much  water — (Grande  y  Caudaloso.)  It  is  impossible 
to  say  whether  this  river  turns  to  the  N.  W.  and  joins  the  Ucayali, 
flows  straight  N.  E.,  and,  as  either  the  Yavari,  the  Jutay,  the  Jurua, 
the  Teffe,  the  Coari,  or  the  Purus,  empties  into  the  Amazon  ;  or,  flow- 
ing east,  is  tributary  to  the  Beni.  It  is,  of  course,  likewise  impossible  to 
Bay  whether  or  not  it  is  free  from  obstructions  to  navigation ;  but  it  is 
reasonable  to  suppose,  from  the  fact  that  the  country  through  which 
it  flows  (supposing  it  to  take  the  general  direction  of  the  rivers  there 
and  run  N.  E.)  is  very  far  from  the  Andes  on  one  side,  and  the  Cor- 
dillera Geral  of  Brazil,  which  form  the  obstructions  to  the  Madeira,  on 
the  other,  that  it  is  free  from  impediments  for  an  immense  distance  up. 
This  route,  however,  takes  its  importance,  in  a  commercial  point  of 
view,  from  the  following  facts  : 


28  INTRODUCTORY. 

It  will  be  recollected  that  I  stated,  in  the  preceding  chapter,  that  the 
defeated  followers  of  Almagro,  hiding  themselves  in  the  vallfys  and  dens 
of  the  broken  country  to  the  eastward  of  Cuzco,  called  Carabaya,  dis- 
covered, in  the  small  streams  that  dashed  down  from  the  neighboring 
Cordillera,  washings  of  gold  of  great  value — that  they  built  villages, 
and  sent  immense  treasures  to  Spain. 

In  the  month  of  June,  1849,  two  brothers  named  I'oblete,  seeking 
Peruvian  bark  in  the  valleys  of  Carabaya,  discovered  grains  or  pits 
(pepitas)  of  gold  in  tlie  "  Gulch "  of  Challuhuma.  They  were  soon 
joined  by  other  hunters  of  bark ;  the  news  spread  in  tlie  province ;  com- 
panies were  formed,  and  petitions  made  to  the  board  of  miners  for  titles; 
quarrels  arose  about  priority  of  discovery  and  rights,  and  the  paths  wero 
broken  up,  and  bridges  and  rafts  for  crossing  the  rivers  destroyed,  so 
that,  up  to  the  time  of  my  information,  little  had  been  done  in  gathering 
the  gold. 

It  appears  from  an  official  letter  of  Pablo  Pimentel,  sub-prefect  of 
the  province  of  Carabaya,  in  answer  to  certain  questions  propounded  to 
him  by  the  Treasury  Department,  that  the  mining  district  is  situated  in 
the  valleys  to  the  N.  and  E.  of  Crucero,  the  capital  of  the  province,  and 
is  reached  from  that  place  by  the  following  routes  and  distances.  (It 
will  be  as  well  to  premise  that  Crucero  is  situated  in  about  latitude  14° 
south,  and  longitude  74°  west'  from  Greenwich ;  and  that  to  reach  it 
by  the  nearest  route  from  the  Pacific  coast,  one  should  land  at  Islay ; 
and  travelling  on  horseback  through  the  cities  of  Arequipa  and  Puno, 
he  will  arrive  at  Crucero,  by  easy  stages  of  fifteen  miles  a  day,  in  about 
twenty  days.)  From  Crucero  the  route,  running  to  the  eastward,  and 
crossing  the  Cordillera  at  probably  its  highest  and  most  diflicult  pass, 
conducts  the  traveller  to  the  small  and  abauduned  village  of  Phani, 
forty-two  miles  from  Crucero. 

Here  ho  puts  foot  to  ground,  and  travels  seventy-two  miles  (foitr 
days' journey)  Ui  tlie  banks  of  the  great  river  Guariguari ;  although 
his  provisions  and  implements  may  be  carried  to  this  point  on  mules  or 
asses.  He  crosses  this  river  on  a  perilous  swinging  bridge,  called  Oroya, 
and  makes  his  way  thirty  miles  further  towards  the  north  without  any 
broken  track,  save  an  occasional  one  made  by  the  bark  hunters. 
Tliis  brings  him  to  Challuhuma. 

The  valley,  or  gulch,  is  from  thirty  to  thirty-six  miles  long  from  the 
top  of  the  mountains,  whence  descend  the  three  small  torrents  which 
form  the  auriferous  stream  called  Challuhuma,  to  its  entrance  into  the 
Guariguari ;  but  it  is  calculated  that  only  about  a  fifth  part  of  this  can 
be  worked,  as  the  other  four  parts  are  hemmed  in  by  precipitous  rocks 


INTRODUCTORY.  29 

on  eacli  side ;  and  "  to  turn  the  course  of  tlie  river  at  these  parts,  so  as 
to  get  at  its  bed,  would  be  about  as  easy  a  task  as  to  remove  the  Andes." 

Pimentel  supposes  that  from  the  time  of  the  discovery,  in  June,  to  the 
date  of  his  letter,  in  November,  about  one  hundred  thousand  dollars 
had  been  collected ;  but  that  the  best  parts  had  been  worked,  and  such 
success  was  no  longer  to  be  looked  for.  He  says,  moreover,  that  the 
difficulty  of  obtaining  provisions  and  supplies  is  very  great,  from  the 
small  number  of  persons  engaged  in  agriculture,  the  general  laziness  of 
the  people,  and  the  difficulty  of  transportation. 

It  is  quite  evident  that  Pimentel  is  disposed  to  throw  difficulties  in 
the  way,  and  to  distract  attention  from  Challuhuma  by  dwelling  upon 
the  undiscovered  riches  in  other  valleys,  and  the  great  vegetable  wealth 
of  the  country  a  little  to  the  eastward  of  it.  Other  accounts  from 
this  district  give  a  different  version,  and  represent  Pimentel  as  a  party 
in  one  of  the  mining  companies,  and  interested  in  keeping  secret  the 
true  state  of  affairs.  The  quarrel  on  this  subject  ran  very  high  in 
the  department  of  Puno,  and  even  the  motives  and  conduct  of  General 
Deustua,  then  prefect  of  the  department,  and  now  governor  of  the 
"  Proviucia  Littoral"  of  Callao — a  man  of  the  very  highest  standing  and 
character  in  his  country — were  impugned.  He  vindicated  his  reputation 
in  a  very  spirited  letter  to  the  Secretary  of  State  for  the  Treasury  De- 
partment, demanding  to  be  relieved,  and  receiving  an  apologetic  reply 
from  the  government. 

It  appears  from  some  notices  of  this  country,  written  by  Manuel 
Hurtado,  a  citizen  of  Puno,  "  that  the  province  of  Carabaya  has  an 
extent  of  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  from  north  to  south, 
rendered  more  to  the  traveller,  who  wishes  to  pass  over  its  whole 
length,  on  account  of  his  having  to  cross  the  spurs  of  the  mountains, 
which  divide  the  whole  country  into  valleys,  having  auriferous  streams; 
for,  from  Cuia  to  Quica,  there  are  eighteen  miles  ;  to  Sandia,  forty-two ; 
to  Cuyo-Cuyo,  twelve ;  to  Patambuco,  eighteen ;  to  Phara,  thirty-six ; 
to  Uricayas,  forty-five ;  to  Coasa,  eighteen ;  to  Thiata,  thirty ;  to  Aya- 
pata,  eighteen ;  to  Ollachea,  forty -two ;  and  to  Corani,  eighteen ;  makino- 
three  hundred  and  seven  miles.  All  these  villages,  except  the  last,  are 
in  the  line  of  the  edge  of  the  Montana.  The  villages  of  Macusani  and 
Crucero  are  on  this  other  side  of  the  Cordillera.  The  population  of  the 
province  is  thirty  thousand  souls,  over  and  above  strangers,  who  come 
to  collect  the  gold  and  cascarilla. 

"  The  exportation  of  the  products  of  the  province  for  the  last  year 
were  about  three  hundred  thousand  pounds  of  cascarilla,  twenty-five 
thousand  baskets  of  coca,  (of  twenty-one  pounds  each,)  and  one  thousand 


30  INTRODUCTORY. 

pounds  of  coflfee.  Tho  small  crops  of  maize,  (fcc,  are  only  for  the 
consumption  of  the  country.  The  only  two  plantations  that  have  been 
opened  in  the  last  two  years,  by  D.  Augustin  Aragon  and  D.  Lorenzo 
Requelmo,  will  begin  to  render  their  crops  in  the  coming  year, 

"  According  to  tho  notices  acquired  from  different  persons,  and 
particularly  from  Pimentol  and  the  Pobletcs,  we  know  that  the  gold 
taken  from  Challuhiima,  from  the  middle  of  June  to  September, 
amounts  to  seven  hundred  pounds,  of  which  the  Pobletes  hold  three, 
and  the  balance  has  been  sold  by  various  individuals  in  the  fairs  and 
markets  of  Azangaro,  Tangazuca,  and  Crucero,  over  and  above  the 
many  pounds  that  have  been  sent  for  sale  to  Puno  and  Arequipa,  and 
that  which  the  Indians  indubitably  hold,  seeing  that  they  only  sell 
enouf'h  to  purchase  themselves  necessaries;  although  one  has  been 
known  to  sell  the  value  of  six  hundred  dollars.  About  the  end  of 
September  the  associates  of  the  company  styled  '  Descubridora' 
destroyed  the  hanging  bridges,  (oroyas,)  the  rafts,  and  even  some  parts 
of  the  road,  saying  that  in  Challuhuma  there  is  nothing,  and  advising 
all  to  return  to  their  houses.  This  rather  encouraged  them  to  proceed. 
They  plunged  into  the  woods  where  human  foot  had  never  trodden, 
and,  crossing  the  great  river  on  temporary  oroyas,  many  persons  settled 
themselves  in  Challuhuma  ;  whence  they  have  been  taking  gold  with- 
out its  bein<T  known  how  much  has  been  collected  in  the  month  and  a 
half  which  has  intervened.  It  is  worthy  of  note  that  these  people  and 
the  Pobletes  have  very  imperfect  means  of  extracting  the  gold  :  being 
reduced  to  what  they  call  ^chkhiqucar^  which  is,  to  place  earth  in 
a  troufh,  wash  it  a  little  while  in  the  stream,  and  collect  tho  gold 
tliat  has  settled ;  which  may  be  one,  two,  or  more  ounces,  according  to 
the  fortune  of  the  wa.sher.  They  repeat  this  operation  as  many  times 
a  day  as  their  strength  will  permit.  On  one  occasion  the  sub-prefect 
Pimentel  obtained  from  one  trough-full  twenty-odd  ounces  of  gold,  as 
lie  himself  related  to  us;  and  no  trough-full  yields  less  than  one  ounce." 

There  seems  exaggeration  in  this  account ;  but  an  anonymous  pub- 
lication from  Puno  on  this  subject  of  Carabaya  goes  beyond  this.     It 


"In  the  year  1*713,  a  mine  of  silver  was  discovered  in  a  hill  called 
Uncuntayo,  among  tho  heights  (Altos)  of  Ollachea,  which  gave  more 
than  four  thousand  marks  to  tho  caxon.  (Six  marks  to  the  caxon  is  a 
paying  yield  in  Corro  Pasco.)  These  riches  gave  rise  to  such  disturb- 
ances, violences,  and  murders,  that  the  Viceroy  had  to  march  to  sup- 
press the  disorders ;  but  after  a  few  years  the  hill  fell  in  and  closed 
the  mines. 


INTRODUCTORY.  31 

"It  has  been  always  known  that  mucli  gold  existed  in  all  the 
ravines  of  the  district  of  Phara,  and  the  proof  is  the  discovery  of  it,  in 
the  present  year,  at  the  points  called  Beinisamayo,  Rio  Challuhuma, 
and  Acomavo,  from  which  '■placeres'  it  is  certain  that  even  in  this 
short  time  many  arrobas  (twenty -five  pounds)  of  fine  gold,  in  the  shape 
of  melon  seeds,  have  been  taken  and  seen  in  Puno  Arequipa,  &c. 
The  sight  of  this  gold,  and  the  conviction  which  is  entertained  of  the 
existence  of  abundance  of  this  metal,  have  awakened  the  avarice  of  all, 
and  are  attracting  to  Carabaya  a  concurrence  of  the  people  of  the 
departments  of  La  Paz,  Puno,  Arequipa,  and  Cuzco.  The  work  must 
cease,  on  account  of  the  rains,  towards  the  end  of  October;  but  from 
May  onwards,  we  shall  have  growing  up  there  a  society,  heterogeneous, 
avaricious,  and  needing  authorities  and  judges,  that  the  'placeres'  may 
be  appointed  among  the  workers  according  to  law  ;  that  property  may 
be  secured ;  and  that  those  disorders  which  may  be  expected  to  grow 
out  of  such  a  state  of  afiairs  may  be  checked :  for  the  sub-prefect,  be- 
sides being  a  principal  associate  in  the  companies  for  collecting  gold 
and  cascarilla,  has  not  the  weight  of  character  necessary  in  these  cases. 
Moreover,  the  person  who  directs  in  mining  matters  (Diputado  de 
Mineria)  resides  in  Puno,  two  hundred  miles  from  the  point  whence 
the  gold  is  extracted.  The  companies  endeavor,  by  every  means  in 
their  power,  to  hide  the  riches  which  exist  in  the  already  discovered 
mines,  and  to  throw  difficulties  in  the  way  of  getting  there ;  but  we 
know  that  every  trough-full  of  the  earth  which  is  washed  gives  six 
ounces  and  upwards,  and  that  there  are  only  three  days  on  horseback 
from  Phara  to  the  banks  of  the  great  river,  though  the  road  is  some- 
what rough;  and  from  the  other  side  of  the  river,  (which  may  be 
crossed  by  an  oroya  or  on  rafts)  to  the  mines  is  only  one  day  on  foot. 
The  climate  of  the  greater  part  of  the  Montana  of  Carabaya  is  entirely 
healthy,  and  of  an  endurable  heat.  Its  lands  are  so  rich  that  they  give 
three  crops  a  year,  and  produce  fine  coca,  cofi"ee  that  rivals  that  of 
Mocha,  superior  cacao,  potatoes,  maize,  fruits,  raisins  of  every  kind, 
the  vanilla,  superior  and  most  abundant  woods,  and  the  cascarilla, 
called  calisaya,  with  all  the  other  classes.  Added  to  this  there  are 
rivers  with  immense  fisheries,  so  that  people  would  do  well  to  colonize 
there  even  if  there  were  no  gold.  The  savages,  in  tribes  of  more  than 
two  hundred  souls,  live  scattered  about  sixty  or  ninety  miles  to  the 
eastward  of  the  placeres.  It  is  necessary  to  adopt  some  measures  of 
precaution  to  anticipate  attacks  which  they  would  be  likely  to  make 
on  small  parties." 

Pimentel  says  that  the  Indians  on  some  of  the  beaches  of  the  great 


32  INTRODUCTORY. 

river  "  Iiiarabari ,"  which  riows  through  this  Montana,  make  a  sort  of 
scaly  pavement  {empedrado,  en  forma  de  escama)  just  before  the  increase 
of  the  river,  caused  by  the  raius,  so  that  the  gold  borne  down  by  its 
current  may  be  deposited.  They  call  these  their  chacras,  or  farms  of 
gold,  and  collect  their  crop  at  the  falling  of  the  river. 

It  will  be  perceived,  from  the  above  accounts,  that,  if  the  river  ''Madre 
de  Dios"  of  Father  Bubo  should  be  identical  with  the  Purus,  and  there 
should  be  a  na\'igable  communication  between  this  country  and  the 
Atlantic,  the  advantages  to  commerce  would  be  enormous,  and  the 
"Brillante  Porvenir,"  or  dazzling  future  of  Cuzco,  would  be  no  dream. 
I  judge,  from  the  description  of  the  country  through  which  this  "great 
river"  (as  it  is  called  in  all  the  accounts  of  people  who  have  visited 
these  parts)  flows,  that  it  is  not  navigable ;  and  it  is  certain  that  neither 
the  cascarilla  nor  the  gold  can  be  collected  for  six  months  in  the  year. 
Yet  I  judge  that  there  is  a  much  nearer  and  easier  communication  with 
the  Atlantic,  by  this  route,  than  that  by  the  passage  of  the  Cordillera, 
and  the  voyage  around  Cape  Horn ;  and  that  the  opening  to  trade  of  a 
country  which  produces,  in  abundance,  gold,  and  the  best  quality  of 
cinchona,  would  soon  repay  the  courage,  enterprise,  and  outlay  of 
money  which  would  be  necessary  to  open,  at  most,  but  a  short  road, 
and  to  remove  a  few  obstructions  from  a  river. 

Since  writing  the  above  I  have  received  from  Mr.  Clay,  our  distin- 
guished charg6  at  Lima,  a  slip  from  the  Comercio,  a  Lima  journal, 
containing  an  account  of  the  fitting  out  of  an  expedition  for  the 
exploration  of  this  river  by  the  people  of  the  town  of  Paucartambo. 
These,  tired  of  waiting  the  tardy  action  of  the  government,  met  in 
council  on  the  10th  of  June,  1852,  and  subscribed  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  dullars  to  pay  the  expenses  of  the  exploring  party.  Twenty 
Indians  were  hired,  for  twenty  days,  at  five  dollars  a  head,  and  ten 
dollars  given  as  gratification  to  their  overseer;  the  remaining  five  were 
expended  in  repairing  the  axes  and  other  tools  supplied  by  the  farmers. 
The  party,  consisting  of  young  volunteers,  liaving  their  expeditionary 
flag  blessed  by  the  Curate,  being  exhorted  by  their  governors  and  elders, 
and  placed  under  the  especial  protection  of  our  blessed  Lady  of  Car- 
men, marched  out,  under  the  guidance  of  Don  Manuel  UgaKli,  amid  the 
strains  of  music  and  the  "vivas"  blessings  and  tears  of  their  relatives 
and  fririids.  AVe  have  yet  to  see  the  result  of  so  enthusiastic  an 
oulburht. 

I  was  so  much  im]>ressod  with  the  import.ince  of  this  route,  that  I 
left  Lima  undecided  whether  I  should  take  it  or  not ;  and  at  Tarma, 
alter  long  and  anxious  deliberation,  (the  measnro  being  supi>orted  by 


INTRODUCTORY.  33 

Mr.  Gibbon's  advice  and  earnest  personal  solicitation,)  I  determined  to 
take  the  responsibility  of  dividing-  tbe  party,  and  did  so,  furnishing  Mr. 
Gibbon  with  the  following  instructions,  and  verbally  calling  his  atten- 
tion to  the  river  Beni : 

Tarma,  June  30,  1851. 

Sir:  From  a  careful  perusal  of  my  instructions  from  the  Navy  De- 
partment, it  appears  to  be  a  matter  of  importance  that  as  much  of 
the  great  South  American  basin,  drained  by  the  Amazon  and  its 
tributaries,  should  be  explored  as  the  means  placed  at  my  disposal  will 
allow ;  and  having  now  arrived  at  a  point  where,  if  the  party  is  kept 
together,  some  objects  of  much  interest  will  have  to  be  abandoned  to  se- 
cure others,  I  have  determined  to  divide  the  party,  and  confide  a  portion 
of  it  to  your  direction. 

You  Avill,  therefore,  with  "Mr.  Richards"  and  a  guide,  proceed  to 
"  Cuzco,"  and  examine  the  country  to  the  eastward  of  that  place.  It  is 
said  that  a  large  and  navigable  river,  called  the  Madre  de  Dios,  has  its 
source  in  the  mountains  of  Carabaya,  and  may  be  approached  at  a 
navigable  point  by  descending  the  Andes  from  "  Cuzco."  Many  argu- 
ments have  been  adduced  to  show  that  this  river  is  the  "  Purus,"  which 
is  known  to  empty  into  the  Amazon. 

It  is  desirable  that  this  should  be  determined ;  and  you  will  make 
such  inquiries  in  Cuzco  as  will  enable  you  to  decide  whether  it  is 
practicable  to  descend  this  river.  I  am  under  the  impression  that  its 
shores,  near  where  you  would  be  likely  to  embark,  are  inhabited  by 
tribes  of  savage  and  warlike  Indians,  who  have  committed  frequent 
depredations  upon  the  "haciendas"  established  in  the  neighborhood. 
You  will  constantly  bear  in  mind  that  your  loss  wiU  deprive  the 
government  of  the  after-services  expected  of  you  in  the  prosecution  of 
our  important  and  interesting  enterprise.  You  will  therefore  run  no 
unnecessary  risk,  nor  expose  yourself  or  party  to  unreasonable  danger 
from  the  attacks  of  these  savages.  The  inhabitants  of  Cuzco  are  said  to 
be  so  much  interested  in  this  discovery,  that  they  may  furnish  you  an 
escort  past  the  point  of  danger. 

Should  you  find  this  route  impracticable,  you  will  proceed  south,  to 
Puno,  on  the  banks  of  the  "Lake  Titicaca ;"  thence  around  the  south- 
ern shores  of  this  "lake"  to  La  Paz,  in  Boli\aa;  thence  to  Cocha- 
bamba ;  and,  descending  the  mountains  in  that  neighborhood,  embark 
upon  the  "Mamore,"  and  descend  that  river  and  the  "Madeira"  to  the 
Amazon.  You  will  then  ascend  the  Amazon  to  the  "Barra  do  Rio 
Negro,"  and,  making  that  your  headquarters,  make  excursions  for  the 


84  INTRODUCTORY. 

exploration  of  the  main  stream  and  adjacent  tributaries,  until  my  arrival, 
or  you  liearfffom  mo. 

You  are  already  possessed  of  the  views  of  the  department  idgarding 
the  objects  of  this  expedition.  A  copy  of  its  instructions  is  herewith 
furnished  you.     You  will  follow  them  a.s  closely  as  possible. 

Should  you  go  into  "Bolivia,"  I  would  call  your  attention  to  the 
"cascarilla,"  or  I'ennian  baik,  which  is  of  a  better  quality  in  that 
country  than  elsewhere.  Make  yourself  acquainted  with  its  history  and 
present  condition. 

Wishing  you  success,  I  remain  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  LEWIS  HERNDON, 

Lieutenant  U.  S.  Namj. 
Passed  Midshipman  Lardker  Gibbon, 

U.  S.  Navy. 


Other  reasons  that  induced  me  to  take  this  step  were,  that  I  might 
carry  out  the  instructions  of  the  department  as  fully  as  lay  in  my 
power ;  and  while  I  gave  my  ovav  personal  attention  to  the  countries 
drained  by  the  upper  Maraiion  and  its  tributaries,  Mr.  Gibbon  might 
explore  some,  and  gather  all  the  iufomiation  he  could  respecting  others, 
of  the  Bolivian  tributaries  of  the  Amazon.  The  objections  were,  that 
the  department  had  not  sanctioned  the  step,  and  that  by  separating  wo 
were  deprived  of  the  comfort  and  assistance  to  be  derived  from  compan- 
ionship— no  small  item  in  so  long  and  lonely  a  journey.  But  I  did 
not  conceive  that  these  should  weigh  against  the  consideration  that  wo 
could  cover  more  ground  apart  than  together. 

I  felt  that,  under  my  instructions  requiring  me  to  explore  the  Ama- 
zon from  its  source  to  its  mouth,  I  could  not  neglect  the  route  I  finally 
determined  to  take,  lliis  route  would  enable  me  to  fonn  a  judgment 
respecting  the  practicability  of  a  transitable  connexion  between  Lima 
and  the  navigable  headwaters  of  the  tributaries  of  the  Amazon — would 
lead  me  through  the  richest  and  most  productive  mineral  district  of 
Peru — would  put  under  my  observation  nearly  all  the  course  of  the 
Amazon — and  would  enable  mo  to  gather  information  regarding  the 
Pampa  del  Sacramento,  or  great  plain,  shut  in  between  four  great 
rivers,  and  concerning  which  the  "Viagoro  Universal"  says  "that  the 
two  continents  of  America  do  not  contain  another  country  so  favorably 
situated,  or  so  fertile." 

Tlie  last  and  most  commonly-used  route  to  the  Montana  is  through 


INTRODUCTORY.  85 

the  cities  of  Truxillo,  Caxamarca,  Chacliapoyas,  Moyobamba,  <fcc.  The 
Andes  here  break  into  many  chains,  sending  off  spurs  in  all  directions, 
but  none  of  any  great  height,  so  that  there  is  a  tolerably  good  mule 
road  all  the  way  to  Moyobamba;  and  almost  all  articles  of  foreign 
manufacture — such  as  cloths  and  the  necessary  household  articles  used 
in  the  small  towns  that  border  the  Huallaga  and  the  Maraiion — are 
supplied  by  this  route.  The  climate  and  productions  of  this  country 
are,  on  account  of  its  precipitous  elevations,  and,  consequently,  deep 
valleys,  very  various;  and  here  the  sugar-cane  and  the  pine-apple  may 
be  seen  growing  by  a  spectator  standing  in  the  barley  field  and  the 
potato  patch. 

This  route  crosses  the  Amazon,  or  rather  the  Maraiion,  where,  ac- 
cording to  Lieut.  Maw,  it  is  sixty  yards  wide,  and  rushes  between  mount- 
ains whose  summits  are  hid  in  the  clouds.  This  point  is  about  three 
degrees  north  of  its  source,  in  Lake  Lauricocha ;  but  the  river  is  no- 
where navigable  until  Tomependa,  in  the  province  of  Jaen  de  Braca 
Moros,  is  reached ;  whence  it  may  be  descended,  but  with  great  peril 
and  difficulty,  on  rafts.  There  are  twenty -seven  "pongos,"  or  rapids,  to 
pass,  and  the  water  rushes  over  these  with  frightful  velocity.  Four 
days  of  such  navigation  passes  the  last,  called  the  Fongo  de  ^'■Manse- 
riche,^^  near  the  village  of  San  Borja,  and  I  am  satisfied  that  an  un- 
broken channel,  of  at  least  eighteen  feet  in  depth,  may  be  found  thence 
to  the  Atlantic  Ocean. 

That  the  rains  might  be  entirely  over,  and  the  roads  on  the  mend  in 
the  Cordillera,  I  fixed  upon  the  20th  of  May  as  the  day  of  departure,  and 
Mr.  Gibbon  and  I  set  about  making  the  necessary  preparations.  I 
engaged  the  services  of  Don  Manuel  Ijurra,  a  young  Peruvian,  who  had 
made  the  voyage  down  the  Amazon  a  few  years  before,  as  interpreter  to 
the  Indians ;  and  Capt.  Gauntt,  of  the  frigate  Ravitan,  then  lying  in  the 
harbor  of  Callao,  was  kind  enough  to  give  me  a  young  master's  mate 
from  his  ship,  named  Richards;  besides  supplying  me  with  carbines, 
pistols,  ammunition,  and  a  tent.  Capt.  Magruder,  of  the  St.  Mary's,  also 
offered  me  anything  that  the  ship  could  supply,  and  furnished  me  with 
more  arms,  and  fifteen  hundred  fathoms  of  the  fishing-line  now  put  on 
board  ships  for  deep-sea  soundings. 

Our  purchases  were  four  saddle-mules,  which,  through  the  agency  of 
Dr.  Smith,  we  were  fortunate  enough  to  get  young,  sound,  and  well 
bitted,  (indispensable  requisites,)  out  of  a  drove  just  in  from  the 
mountains.  We  consulted  the  learned  in  such  matters  on  the 
propriety  of  having  them  shod,  and  found  the  doctors  disagreeing  upon 
this  subject  very  much.     As  they  were  from  the  mountains,  and  their 


36  INTRODUCTORY. 

hoofs  were  round,  sound,  and  apparently  as  hard  as  iron,  we  decided 
not  to  shoe;  and,  I  believe,  did  better  than  if  we  had  followed  a 
contrary  course.  Wc  also  purchased  about  a  thousand  yards  ot  coarse 
cotton  cloth,  made  in  the  mills  at  Lima,  and  put  up  for  mountain  travel 
inhales  of  half  a  mule-load;  hatchets,  knives,  tinder-boxes,  fish-hooks, 
beads,  looking-glasses,  cotton  handkerchiefs,  ribbons,  and  cheap  trinkets, 
which  we  thought  might  take  the  fancy  of  the  Indians,  and  purchase 
us  services  and  food  when  money  would  not.  Tliese  things  were  also 
put  up  in  boxes  of  the  same  size  and  shape,  and  each  Cijual  to  half  a 
mule-load.  Our  trunks  were  arranged  in  the  same  way,  so  that  they 
might  be  lashed  one  on  each  side  of  the  mule's  back,  with  an  India- 
rubber  bag,  (also  obtained  from  the  Raritan,)  which  carried  our  bed- 
clothes, put  on  top  in  the  space  between  them.  This  makes  a  compact 
and  easily -handled  load;  and  every  traveller  in  the  Cordillera  should 
take  care  to  arrange  his  baggage  in  this  way,  and  have,  as  far  as 
possible,  everything  under  lock  and  key,  and  in  water-tight  chests. 
Such  small,  incongi-uous  articles  as  our  pots  and  pans  for  cooking,  our 
tent,  and  particularly  tlie  tent-pole,  which  was  carried  fore  and  aft 
above  a  cargo,  and  which,  from  its  length,  was  poking  into  eveiything, 
and  constantly  getting  awiy,  gave  us  more  trouble  than  anything  else. 

Our  bedding  consisted  of  the  saddle-clotlis,  a  stout  blanket,  and  any- 
thing else  that  could  be  packed  in  the  India-rubber  bag.  An  English- 
man, fiom  New  Uolland,  whom  I  met  in  Lima,  gave  me  a  coverlet 
made  of  the  skins  of  a  kind  of  racoon,  which  served  me  many  a  good 
turn;  and  often,  when  in  the  cold  of  the  Cordillera  I  wrapped  myself 
in  its  warm  folds,  I  felt  a  thrill  of  giatitude  for  the  thoughtful  kindness 
which  had  provided  mo  witli  such  a  comfort  We  purcha.<ed  thick 
flannel  shirts,  ^'ojicAos,  of  India-rubber,  wool,  and  cotton,  and  hail  straw 
hats,  covered  with  oil-cloth,  and  fitted  with  green  veils,  to  protect  our 
eyes  from  tlie  painful  affections  which  often  occur  by  the  sudden  bui-st- 
ing  out  of  the  sunlight  upon  the  masses  of  snow  that  lie  forever  upon 
the  mountain  tops. 

We  carried  two  small  kegs — one  containing  brandy,  for  drinking,  and 
the  other  the  common  rum  of  the  country,  called  Jion  de  Qurmnr,  for 
burning;  also,  some  coarse  knives,  forks,  spoons,  tin  cups,  and  plates. 
I  did  not  cany,  as  I  should  have  done,  a  few  cases  of  preserved  meat, 
sardines,  cheese,  A'c,  which  would  have  given  us  a  much  more  agreeable 
meal  than  we  often  got  on  the  road;  but  I  did  carry,  in  thu  India- 
rubber  bags,  quite  a  largo  quantity  of  biscuit,  which  I  had  baked  in 
Lima,  which  8er\ed  n  veiy  good  purpose,  and  lasted  us  to  Tarma. 
We  had  the  mulc»  fitted  with  the  heavy,  deep-seated  box  saddles  of 


INTRODUCTORY.  37 

Peru.    I  believe  the  English  saddle  would  be  much  more  comfortable, 
and  probably  as  safe  to  the  rider  accustomed  to  it ;  but  it  would  be 
almost  impossible  with  these  "to  preserve  the  skin  of  the  mule  from 
chafe.     The  Peruvian  saddles  rest  entirely  upon  the  ribs  of  the  animal, 
which  are  protected  by  at  least  six  yards  of  a  coarse  woollen  fabric 
manufactured  in  the  country,  called  jerga,  and  touch  the  back-bone 
nowhere.     These  saddles  are  a  wooden  box  frame,  stuffed  thickly  on 
the  inside,  and  covered  outwardly  with  buckskin.     They  are  fitted  with 
heavy,  square,  wooden  stirrups,  which  are  thought  to  preserve  the  lec^s 
from  contact  with  projecting  rocks,  and,  being  lined  with  fur,  to  keep 
the  feet  warm.     There  is  also  a  heavy  breast-strap  and  crupper  for 
steep  ascents  and  descents ;  and  a  ihic^  pillon,  or  mat,  made  of  thrums 
of  cotton,  silk,  or  hair,  is  thrown  over  the  saddle,  to  make  the  seat  soft. 
The  reins  and  head-stall  of  the  bridle  should  be  broad  and  strong,  and 
the  bit  the  coarse  and  powerful  one  of  the  country.     Our  guns,  in 
leathern  cases,  were  slung  to  the  crupper,  and  the  pistols  carried'  in 
holsters,  made  with  large  pockets,  to  carry  powder-flasks,  percussion 
caps,  specimens  that  we  might  pick  up  on  the  road,  <fec.  •  A  small 
box  of  instruments  for  skinning  birds  and  dissecting  animals ;  a  medi- 
cine chest,  containing,  among  other  things,  some  arsenical  soap,  for 
preserving  skins ;  a  few  reams  of  coarse  paper,  for  drying  leaves  and 
plants;  chart  paper,  in  a  tin  case;  passports  and  other  papers,  also  in 
a  tin  case  ;  note-books,  pencils,  &c.,  completed  our  outfit.    A  chest  was 
made,  with  compartments  for  the  sextant,  artificial  horizon,  boiling-point 
apparatus,  camera  lucida,  and  spy-glass.     The  chronometer  was  carried 
in  the  pocket,  and  the  barometer,  slung  in  a  leathern  case  made  for  it, 
at  the  saddle-bow  of  Mr.  Gibbon's  mule. 

On  the  loth  of  May  I  engaged  the  services  of  an  arriero,  or  muleteer. 
He  engaged  to  furnish  beasts  to  carry  the  party  and  its  baggage  from 
Lima  to  Tarma  at  ten  dolhirs  the  head,  stopping  on  the  road^wherever 
I  pleased,  and  as  long  as  I  pleased,  for  that  sum.  An  ordinary  train  of 
baggage  mules  may  be  had  on  the  same  route  for  about  seven  dollars 
the  head.  The  arrieros  of  Peru,  as  a  class,  have  a  very  indifterent 
reputation  for  faithfulness  and  honesty,  and  those  on  the  route,  (that 
from  Lima  to  Cerro  Pasco,)  to  which  my  friend  particularly  belonged, 
are  said  to  be  the  worst  of  their  class.  He  was  a  thin,  spare,  dark 
Indian,  of  the  Sierra  or  mountain  land,  about  forty-five  years  of  age, 
with  keen,  black  eye,  thin  moustache,  and  deliberate  in  his  speech  and 
gesture.  I  thought  I  had  seldom  seen  a  worse  face ;  but  Mr.  McCall 
said  that  he  was  rather  better  looking  than  the  generality  of  them.  He 
managed  to  cheat  me  very  soon  after  our  acquaintance. 


38  INTRODUCTORY. 

Arrieros,  when  they  supply  as  many  mules  as  I  had  engaged,  always 
furnish  a  peon,  or  assistant,  to  help  load  and  unload,  and  take  care  of 
the  mules.  Mine,  taking  advantage  of  my  ignorance  in  these  matters, 
said  to  mo  that  his  ^;(0«  was  ^''  dcsanimado,^^  (disheartened,)  was  afraid 
of  the  "  Piedra  Parada^^  or  upright  rock,  where  we  were  to  cross  the 
Cordillera,  and  had  backed  out ;  but  that  he  himself  could  very  "well 
attend  to  the  mules  if  I  would  be  good  enough  to  lot  him  have  the 
occasional  assistance  of  my  Indian  servant.  I  unwarily  promised,  which 
was  the  cause  of  a  good  deal  of  dilBculty ;  but  when  the  old  rascal 
comi)lained  of  over-work  and  sickness  on  the  road,  I  had  an  answer  for 
him  which  always  silenced  him — that  is,  that  it  was  his  own  cupidity 
and  dishonesty  which  caused  it,  and  that  if  he  did  not  work  and  behave 
himself,  I  would  discharge  him  without  pay,  and  send  back  to  Lima 
for  another, 

I  directed  him  to  bring  the  mules  to  the  hotel  door  on  the  20th  ; 
but,  upon  his  finding  that  this  was  Tuesday,  he  demurred,  saying  that 
it  was  an  unlucky  day,  and  that  no  arriero  was  willing  to  start  on  that 
day,  but  that  Monday  was  lucky,  and  begged  that  I  would  bo  ready  by 
then.  Tliis  I  could  not  do;  so  that  on  Wednesday,  the  21st  of  May, 
we  loaded  up,  though  I  had  to  cajole,  and  finally  to  bribe  the  old 
fellow,  to  take  on  all  the  baggage,  which  ho  represented  to  be  too  much 
for  his  beasts. 

I  did  wrong  to  start,  for  the  party  was  short  of  a  servant  allowed 
by  my  instructions.  (I  had  not  been  able  to  get  one  in  Lima,  except  at 
an  unreasonable  price,  and  depended  upon  getting  one  in  some  of  the 
towns  of  the  Sierra.)  The  arriero  needed  a  peon,  and  the  mules  were 
overloaded.  I  would  strongly  advise  all  travellers  in  these  parts  to 
imitate  the  conduct  of  the  Jesuits,  whose  first  day's  journey  is  to  load 
their  burden  mules,  saddle  and  mount  tlicir  riding-mules ;  go  twice 
round  the  patio  or  square,  on  the  inside  of  their  dwelling,  to  see  that 
everything  is  prepared  and  fits  properly  ;  and  then  unload  and  wait  for 
the  morning.  However,  I  foresaw  a  longer  delay  by  unloading  again 
than  I  was  willing  to  make ;  and  after  a  hard  morning's  work  in  drum- 
ming up  the  Peruvian  part  of  tho  expedition,  (these  people  have  not 
the  slightest  idea  that  a  man  will  start  on  a  journey  on  tho  day  he 
proposes,)  the  party,  consisting  of  myself,  Mr.  Gibbon,  Mr.  Richards, 
Mr.  Ijiirra,  Mauricio,  an  Indian  of  Chamicuros,  (a  village  on  tho 
Ilualluga,)  and  tho  arriero,  Pablo  Luis  Arredondo,  with  seven  burden- 
mules,  defiled  out  by  the  Gate  of  .Marvels,  {P  iter  la  de  Mara  villas,)  and 
took  tho  broad  and  beaten  road  that  ascends  tho  left  bank  of  tho 
Rimac. 


PASSPORTS.  39- 


CHAPTER  III. 

Passports — Means  of  defence — The  road — Pacayar — Chaclacayo — Narrow  pass — 
Yanacoto — Bridge — Cocaehacra — Tribute  money — Dividing  line  between  the 
coast  and  the  Sierra — Moyoc — Varieties  of  the  potato — Matucana — San  Mateo — 
Mines  of  Pdrac — ^Narrow  valley — Summit  of  the  Cordillera — Reflections. 

Before  leaving  Lima  I  had  had  several  interviews  with  the  President, 
General  Castilla,  who  exhibited  much  interest  in  my  mission ;  and  the 
Hon.  J.  R.  Clay,  U.  S.  charge  d'affaires,  had  presented  me  to  General 
Ton-ico,  who  at  that  time  was  sole  Minister  of  Peru,  under  the  newly 
elected  President,  General  Echenique,  who  yet  had  not  had  time  to 
appoint  his  Cabinet.  General  Torrico  caused  to  be  issued  to  me  the 
following  passport  and  letter : 

[Translation.] 

Juan  Crisostomo  Torrico, 

Minister  of  War  and  Marine,  and  charged  with  the  conduct  of 
Foreign  delations. 

In  that  Wm.  Lewis  Herndon,  lieutenant  of  the  navy  of  the  United 
States,  and  Lardner  Gibbon,  passed  midshipman  of  the  same,  commis- 
sioned by  their  government  to  make  a  scientific  expedition  in  the 
Territory  of  Peru,  direct  themselves  towards  the  interior  of  the 
republic  for  the  discharge  of  their  commission,  accompanied  by  Henry 
Richards,  Manuel  Ijurra,  Mauricio  N.,  attached  to  said  commission,  and 
by  two  servants : 

Therefore,  I  direct  that  the  authorities  of  the  districts  they  may  pass 
through  shall  place  no  obstacle  in  the  way  of  the  above-mentioned 
gentlemen  and  servants ;  but,  rather,  shall  aftbrd  them  all  the  assistance 
and  facilities  that  may  be  necessary  for  the  fulfilment  of  their  object, 
preserving  to  them  the  considerations  which  are  their  due — [guardan- 
dole  las  consideraciones  que  les  son  debidas.) 

Given  in  Lima,  the  13th  of  May,  1851. 

J.  C'MO.  TORRICO. 


40  MEANS  OF  DEFENCE. 

[Translation.] 

To  the  Prefect  or  the  Department  of  Amazonas. 

Sir  :  Wm.  Lewis  Herndon,  lieutenant  of  the  navy  of  the  United 
States,  and  Lardner  Gibbon,  passed  midshipman  of  the  same,  commis- 
sioned by  the  govemraent  of  that  nation  to  make  a  scientific  expedition 
in  the  eastern  parts  of  Peru,  accompanied  by  Henry  Richards,  Mauricio 
N.,  and  Manuel  Ijurra,  as  adjuncts  to  the  expedition,  direct  themselves 
towards  the  department  under  your  command  iu  the  discharge  of  their 
commission.  As  the  expedition  deserves,  on  account  of  its  important 
object,  the  particular  protection  of  the  government,  his  Excellency  the 
President  commands  me  to  advise  you  to  afl'ord  them  whatever 
resources  and  facilities  they  may  need  for  the  better  discharge  of  their 
commission,  taking  care,  likewise,  that  there  shall  be  preserved  to  them 
the  considerations  that  are  their  due. 

The  which  I  communicate  to  you  for  its  pimctual  fulfilment. 
God  preserve  you. 

J.  C'MO.  TORFJCO. 


This  passport  was  made  out  at  a  time  when  I  expected  to  procure 
two  servants.  Mauricio,  the  Chamicuros  Indian,  was  the  only  servant 
who  accompanied  us. 

Wo  were  accompanied  for  a  mile  or  two  on  the  road  by  our  kind 
friends  and  countrj-men,  Messrs.  Prevost,  Foster,  and  McCall,  who 
drew  up  at  the  Cemetery  to  bid  us  good-bye ;  Mr.  Prevost  advising 
us  to  halt  at  the  first  place  we  could  find  pasturage  for  the  mules. 
The  road  we  were  to  travel  had  reputation  for  robbers,  and  Mr.  McCall 
desired  to  know  how  we. were  to  defend  ourselves  in  case  of  attack, 
as  we  carried  our  guns  in  leather  cases,  strapped  to  the  crupper,  and 
entirely  out  of  roach  for  a  sudden  emergency.  Gibbon  replied  by 
showing  his  six-barrelled  Colt,  and  observ-ed  that  Ijurra,  Richards, 
and  myself  had  each  a  pair  of  pistols  at  hand.  As  for  Mauricio,  he 
kept  his  pistols  in  his  saddle-bags ;  and  I  was  satisfied,  from  Rome  at- 
tempts that  I  had  made  to  teach  Luis  to  shoot,  (though  he  was  very 
ambitious  and  desirous  to  learn,)  that  it  was  dangerous  to  trust  him 
vr\th  a  pair,  as  ho  might  as  readily  fire  into  his  friends  as  his  enemies. 
With  the  comfi^rtable  observation  from  Mr.  McCall  that  he  never  ex- 
pected to  see  us  again,  we  shook  liands  and  parted. 

Our  course  lay  about  E.  N.  E.  over  an  apparently  level  ami  very 


PACAYAR.  41 

stony  road.  To  the  right  were  the  green  cane  and  alfalfa*  fields,  about 
Miraflorcs  and  Chorillos ;  and  on  the  left  and  behind,  the  vegetation 
afforded  by  the  valley  of  the  Rimac;  but  ahead  all  was  barren,  giim, 
and  forbidding. 

Just  before  sunset  we  stopped  at  the  hacienda  (estate,  or  farm,  or 
settlement)  of  Santa  Clara,  and  applied  for  pasturage.  We  were  told 
by  an  old  negi'O  woman  sitting  on  the  ground  at  the  door  of  the  house, 
that  there  was  none;  which  was  confirmed  by  two  men  who  just  then 
rode  up,  and  who  expressed  their  regret  at  not  being  able  to  accommo- 
date us.  It  was  remarkable  to  see  such  poverty  and  squalid  wretched- 
ness at  nine  miles  from  the  great  city  of  Lima;  it  was  like  passing  in 
a  moment  from  the  most  luxurious  ci\'ilization  into  savage  barbarity — 
from  the  garden  to  the  desert.  We  rode  on,  about  three  miles  further, 
to  the  hacienda  of  Pacayar,  where  we  arrived  at  half  past  six  o'clock, 
p.  m. 

Before  the  mules  could  be  unloaded  it  became  very  dark;  so  that 
the  arriero  and  Mauricio  had  considerable  trouble  in  driving  them  to 
the  pasturage.  Indeed  some  of  them  got  away ;  I  could  hear  them 
galloping  furiously  up  and  down  the  road,  and  I  went  to  bed  on  a 
table  in  the  only  room  in  the  house,  with  the  comfortable  reflection 
that  I  had  balked  at  starting,  and  should  have  to  return  or  send  back 
to  Lima  to  buy  more  mules. 

Tormented  with  these  reflections,  and  oppressed  with  the  excitement 
and  fatigue  of  the  day,  I  could  not  sleep ;  but  tossed  "in  restless 
ecstacy"  for  many  a  long  hour,  until  just  before  daylight,  when,  as  I 
was  dropping  to  sleep,  a  couple  of  game  cocks,  tied  by  the  leg  in  the 
room,  commenced  "  their  salutation  to  the  morn,"  and  screamed  out 
their  clarion  notes  within  a  yard  of  my  ear.  This  was  too  much  for 
me.  I  rushed  out — to  meet  a  heavenly  morning,  and  old  Luis,  with  the 
intelligence  that  the  mules  were  "all  right."  I  took  off  my  upper 
clothes,  and  plunged  head,  neck,  and  shoulders,  into  the  water  of  a 
little  mountain  stream  that  rushed  clear  and  cold  as  ice  by  the  roadside 
in  front  of  the  house.  Thus  refreshed  and  invigorated,  the  appearance 
of  affairs  took  a  new  aspect,  and  light-heartedness  and  hope  came  back 
as  strong  and  fresh  as  in  the  days  of  boyhood. 

The  mayordomo,  or  steward  of  the  estate,  was  a  Ckino,  (descendant 
of  Indian  and  negi'o,)  and  seemed  an  amiable  and  intelligent  fellow, 

*  A  very  green  and  pretty  kind  of  lucem,  universally  used  in  this  countr 
for  pasturage. 


42  THE  ROAD. 

He  gave  us  a  supper  of  a  thin  soup  (caldo)  and  chupe;*  and  whilst  we 
were  eating  it,  he  was  engaged  in  teaching  the  children  of  a  neighbor 
the  multiplication  table  and  the  catechism. 

From  the  appearance  of  things,  I  judge  this  estate  paid  little  enough 
to  its  owner;  for  I  saw  small  signs  of  cultivation  about  it,  though  I 
should  think  that  the  valley  of  the  Kiraac,  which  is  a  full  mile  in  width 
in  front  of  the  house,  would  produce  good  and  (considering  the  short 
distance  to  Lima)  valuable  crops  of  grass  and  vogotables.  The  land 
is  ploughed  with  a  rude,  heavy,  wooden  plough  of  one  handle,  which  is 
shod  with  iron.     It  is  generally  worked  by  a  yoke  of  oxen. 

The  house  was  built  of  adobe,  or  sun-dried  bricks,  and  roofed  with 
tiles.  It  had  but  one  room,  which  was  the  general  receptacle  for  all 
comers.  A  mud  projection,  of  two  feet  high  and  three  wide,  stood  out 
from  the  walls  of  the  room  all  round,  and  served  as  a  standing  bed 
place  for  numbers.  Others  laid  their  blankets  and  ponchos  and  stretched 
themselves  upon  the  floor;  so  that,  with  whites,  Indians,  negroes, 
trunks,  packages,  horse  furniture,  game  cocks,  and  Guinea  pigs,  we  had 
quite  a  caravansera  appearance.  The  supper  and  bed  that  the  steward 
had  given  us  were  gratuitous;  he  would  accept  no  remuneration;  and 
we  got  our  breakfast  of  chupe  and  eggs  at  a  tambo  or  roadside  inn 
nearly  opposite. 

Though  we  commenced  loading  up  soon  after  daylight,  we  did  not 
get  off  until  half-past  nine.  Such  delays  were  invariable;  and  this  was 
owing  to  the  want  of  a  peon  and  another  servant. 

Tlie  height  of  Pacayar  above  the  level  of  the  sea  is  one  thousand 
tliree  hundred  and  forty-six  feet. 

May  22. — Roads  still  good;  valley  gradually  narrowing,  and  hills 
becoming  liighcr,  and  more  barren  and  rocky.  We  passed  several 
squads  of  .asses  and  llamas  carrying  potatoes  and  eggs,  some  of  them  as 
far  as  from  Jauja,  to  Lima.  Six  miles  from  Pacayar  is  the  village  {pue- 
blo) of  Chaclacayo,  consisting  of  four  or  five  houses,  constructed  of  cano 
and  mud.  A  mile  further  is  the  Juzgado  of  Sta.  Ines,  quite  a  large, 
gootl-looking  -house,  with  a  small  chapel  near  it.  This  was  the  resi- 
dence, in  the  Spanish  times,  of  a  justice  of  the  peace,  who  administered 
law  and  judgment  to  his  neighbors;  hence  called  Juzgado.  Soon  after 
lea\nng  this  tlio  stream  approached  the  hills  so  close  that  there  was  no 
longer  room  between  them  for  the  road;  and  this  had  to  be  cut  out  of 

"Chupo  is  a  uuiversftl  articlo  of  diet  in  the  Sierra.  It  i%  a  broth,  or  Boupi 
made  generally  of  potatoes,  cheese,  and  lard  ;  Bometinien  moat  ia  boiled  in  it. 
It  is  the  lost  dish  sorved  at  dinner  at  a  gontlemaD^s  table  before  the  dessert. 


TANACOTO.  43 

the  side  of  the  hill.  It  was  very  nan-ow,  and  seemed  in  some  places  to 
overhang  the  stream  fifty  feet  below  it.  Just  as  we  were  turning  an 
angle  of  the  road  we  met  a  man  driving  two  horses  before  him,  which 
immediately  mingled  in  with  our  burden  mules,  and  endangered  their 
goino-  over  the  precipice.  Our  arriero  shouted  to  the  man,  and,  spm-ring 
his  horse  through  the  mules,  commenced  diiving  back  the  horses  of  the 
other,  who  flourished  his  whip,  and  insisted  upon  passing.  I  expected 
to  see  a  fight,  and  mischief  happen,  which  would  probably  have  fallen 
upon  us,  as  the  other  had  nothing  to  lose,  when  Ijurra  called  out  to 
him,  and  represented  that  our  cargoes  were  very  valuable,  and  that  if 
one  were  lost  he  should  be  held  responsible ;  whereupon  he  desisted, 
di'ove  his  horses  back,  and  suftered  us  to  pass.  This  caused  us  to  be 
more  careful  in  our  march ;  and  I  sent  Gibbon,  with  Richards,  ahead, 
to  warn  persons,  or  give  us  warning,  in  time  to  prevent  a  collision. 
The  burden  mules  were  driven  by  the  arriero  and  the  servant,  in  the 
middle ;  while  Ijurra  and  I  brought  up  the  rear. 

A-t  2  p.  m.  we  stopped  at  the  Tambo  of  Yanacoto.  I  determined  to 
stay  here  a  day  or  two  to  get  things  shaken  into  their  places,  and  obtain 
a  new  error  and  rate  for  the  chronometer,  which  had  stopped  the  day 
before,  a  few  hours  out  of  Lima,  though  we  had  not  discovered  it  till 
this  morning.  I  cared,  however,  very  little  for  this,  as  I  was  satisfied 
that  it  would  either  stop  again  or  so  vary  in  its  rate  as  to  be  worthless. 
No  chronometer  will  stand  the  jar  of  mule  travel  over  these  roads, 
especially  if  carried  in  the  pocket,  where  the  momentum  of  the  jar  is 
parallel  to  the  movement  of  the  balance  wheel  of  the  watch.  Were  I  to 
carry  a  chronometer  on  such  a  journey  again,  I  would  have  it  placed  in 
its  box  on  a  cushion  on  the  saddle-bow,  and  when  I  travelled  in  a  canoe, 
where  the  motion  is  the  other  way,  I  would  hang  it  up.  We  pitched 
the  tent  in  the  valley  before  the  road,  and  proceeded  to  make  ourselves 
as  comfortable  as  possible ;  got  an  observation  for  time,  and  found  the 
latitude  of  Yanacoto,  by  Mer.  alt.  of  y  Crucis,  to  be  11°  57'  20". 

May  23. — Bathing  before  breakfast  is,  on  this  part  of  the  route? 
both  heathful  and  pleasant.  There  seemed  to  be  no  cultivation  in  this 
valley,  which  here  is  about  half  a  mile  wide.  It  is  covered  with  bushes, 
except  close  to  the  water's  edge,  where  grow  reeds  and  flags.  The 
bushes  are  dwarf  willow,  and  a  kind  of  locust  called  Sangre  de  Christo, 
which  bears  a  broad  bean,  containing  four  or  five  seed,  and  a  pretty  red 
flower,  something  like  our  crape  myrtle.  There  is  also  a  bush,  of  some 
ten  or  twelve  feet  in  height,  called  Molle.  This  is  the  most  common 
shrub  of  the  countrj^,  and  has  a  wider  climatic  range  than  any  other  of 
this  slope  of  the  Andes.    It  has  long,  deUcate  leaves,  like  the  acacia,  and 


44  BRIDGE. 

produces  an  immense  quantity  of  small  red  berries  in  large  bunches. 
The  leaves,  when  crushed,  have  a  strong  aromatic  smell;  and  many 
persons  believe  that  it  is  certain  death  to  sleep  under  its  shade.  Dr. 
Smith,  in  his  book,  called  "Peru  as  it  is,"  says  that  "this  tree  is  much 
prized  for  fuel.  The  sugar  refiners  of  the  interior  use  the  ashes  from  it 
in  preference  to  those  from  any  other  wood,  on  account  of  their  higher 
alkaline  properties,  and  consequent  efficiency  in  purifying  the  cane-juice 
•when  being  boiled  do^^-n  to  a  proper  consistence  to  be  cast  into  moulds. 
The  Inca  tribe,  as  we  learn  from  Garcilasso  de  la  Vega,  made  a  highly 
valuable  and  medicinal  beer,  which  some  of  the  Indians  of  the  interior 
still  occasionally  prepare,  from  the  clustera  of  small  grained  fruit  that 
hang  gracefully  and  abundantly  from  this  pretty  tree." 

"We  saw  several  cases  of  tertiana,  or  chills  and  fever,  at  Yanacoto. 
The  people  seem  to  have  no  remedy,  except  drinking  spirits  just  before 
the  chill  comes  on,  and  using  as  a  drink,  during  the  fever,  the  juice  of 
the  bitter  orange,  with  sugar  and  water.  When  the  case  is  bad,  those 
who  can  aftbrd  it — such  a.s  the  mayordomos  and  iamhcros  (the  keepers 
of  the  road-side  inns,  called  tambos) — send  to  Lima  and  get  medical 
advice  and  physic.  Our  tambero  killed  a  mutton  for  us,  and  (leaving 
out  the  lard,  which  is  always  abominable)  made  a  good  chupe.  Tlie 
roast  was  a  failure ;  but  we  got  poultry  and  eggs,  and  had  a  very  good 
time. 

The  elevation  of  Yanacoto  is  two  thousand  three  hundred  and  thirty- 
seven  feet,  a  little  more  than  one  thousand  feet  above  Pacayar.  The 
distance  between  them  is  about  ten  miles;  showing  a  rise  to  the  mile  of 
about  one  hundred  feet,  which  is  very  little  greater  than  that  between 
Callao  and  Lima. 

May  24. — Had  observation  for  time;  breakfasted,  and  started  at  (en- 
Valley  still  narrowing;  the  hills  becoming  mountains,  mostly  of  granite; 
rock  piled  upon  rock  for  hundreds  of  feet,  and  in  every  variety  of  shape; 
no  vegetation,  exce})t  where  the  hardy  cactus  finds  aliment  in  the  crev- 
ices of  the  rock. 

About  four  and  a  half  miles  above  Yanacoto  we  passed  the  hacienda 
of  Laehosita,  and  soon  after  the  little  \'illago  of  San  I'edro  Mama, 
where  the  fii-st  bridge  is  thrown  over  the  Rimac.  Heavy,  rough  stone- 
work is  built  on  each  side  of  the  river,  into  which  are  inserted  massive 
pieces  of  timber,  standing  out  a  few  feet  from  the  face  of  the  masonrj', 
and  hewn  flat  on  top.  On  their  ends  are  laid  trunks  of  trees,  crus.sing 
the  river,  and  securely  la-slied.  Athwart  these  are  laid  sticks  of  wood, 
of  some  two  or  three  inches  diameter,  lasliud  Juwn,  and  covered  over 
with  bundles  of  reeds,  mud,  and  stones. 


COCACHACRA.  45 

After  San  Pedro,  at  about  tliree  miles  of  distance,  comes  tlie  haci- 
enda of  Santa  Ana,  belonging  to  Seiior  Ximenes,  an  old  gentleman  of 
Lima,  who  bad  made  a  large  fortune  by  mining.  Just  before  reaching 
there  we  met  a  drove  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  mules  belonging  to  him, 
in  fine  condition  and  well  appointed,  going  to  Lima,  laden  with  small 
sticks  of  the  willow  and  molle  for  fuel. 

There  is  very  little  cultivation  till  near  Cocachacra,  where  we  saw 
well-tilled  fields,  gi-een  with  alfalfa  and  Indian  corn.  We  arrived  at 
this  place  at  halt-past  five,  and  pitched  the  tent  in  a  meadow  near  the 
river,  and  without  the  town,  for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  company  and 
disagreeable  curiosity. 

Although  we  had  seen  fields  of  lucern  before  entering  the  village, 
we  could  get  none  for  our  mules  after  we  got  there ;  and  to  every  in- 
quiry for  hay,  fodder,  or  grain,  the  constant  reply  was  "  No  hay,"  (there 
is  none.)  Gibbon,  however,  persevered  until  some  one  told  him,  in  an 
undertone,  as  if  imparting  a  great  secret,  where  a  little  corn  was  to  be 
purchased,  and  he  got  a  peck  or  two  shelled.  We  were  continually 
annoyed  and  put  to  inconvenience  by  the  refusal  of  the  people  to  sell 
to  us.  I  think  it  arose  from  one  of  two  causes,  or  probably  both — either 
that  money  was  of  less  value  to  them  than  the  things  we  wanted,  or 
they  feared  to  have  it  known  that  they  had  possessions,  lest  the  hand 
of  authority  should  be  laid  upon  them,  and  they  be  compelled  to  give 
up  their  property  without  payment. 

Cocachacra  is  a  village  of  about  one  hundred  inhabitants,  and  at 
present  the  residence  of  the  sub-prefect  or  governor  of  the  province, 
which  is  that  of  Huarochiri.  This  province,  according  to  the  "  Guia 
de  Forasteros,"  (a  sort  of  official  almanac  published  yearly  at  Lima,) 
is  conterminous  with  that  of  Lima,  and  commences  at  eighteen  miles 
from  the  city.  It  has  ninety  miles  of  length  from  N.  W.  to  S.  E., 
and  seventy-two  of  breadth.  There  are  fourteen  thousand  two  hundred 
and  fifty-eight  native  inhabitants;  and  its  fiscal  income  is  fomieen 
thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty-eight  dollars  and  two  reals ;  its  mu- 
nicipal, one  thousand  one  hundred  and  eighty-seven  dollars.  The  in- 
habitants are  generally  engaged  in  mining,  cultivating  potatoes,  and 
raising  cattle,  or  as  muleteers.  The  houses,  like  all  those  of  the  Sierra, 
are  built  either  of  stone  or  adobe,  and  thatched  with  wheat  or  barley 
straw. 

We  called  on  the  sub-prefect  and  exhibited  our  Peruvian  passports, 
asking,  at  the  same  time,  that  he  would  give  us  some  assistance  in 
obtaining  food  for  our  beasts.  This  he  seemed  lukewarm  about,  and  I 
did  not  press  him,  for  I  had  made  up  my  mind  that  as  far  as  it  was 


4t 

46  CONTRIBUTION. 

possible  I  would  avoid  appealing  to  authority  for  the  purpose  of  obtain- 
ing supplies,  and  go  without  what  I  could  not  buy  or  beg.  He  had 
in  the  house  the  semi-yearly  contribution  of  his  province  towaids  the 
support  of  the  government,  which  he  was  to  send  to  Lima  next  day. 
A  gentleman  suggested  that  he  might  be  robbed  that  night ;  but  he 
said  that  his  guns  were  loaded,  (pointing  to  some  muskets  standing 
around  the  room,)  and  that  he  might  count  upon  assistance  from  our 
party,  which  seemed  well  armed. 

Very  little  help  he  would  have  had  from  us.  He  had  shown  no 
disposition  to  oblige  us,  and  moreover  I  had  no  notion  of  interfering 
in  other  people's  quarrels,  or  preventing  the  people  from  taking  back 
their  money  if  they  wanted  it.  This  contribution  is  a  capitation  tax  of 
seven  dollars  a  year,  collected  half-yearly  from  the  Indian  population 
between  the  ages  of  sixteen  and  sixty.  It  is  collected  by  the  governors 
of  the  districts  into  which  a  province  is  divided,  who  receive  two  per 
centum  on  their  collections,  and  pay  over  to  the  sub-prefect,  who  re- 
ceives four  per  cent,  on  the  whole  amount  collected  from  the  districts 
of  his  province.  The  prefects  of  the  departments,  which  are  made  up 
of  a  number  of  pronnces,  receive  a  regular  salary,  according  to  the  size 
and  wealth  of  their  departments,  varying  from  three  to  five  thousand 
dollars.     We  slept  comfortably  in  the  tent.     Nights  getting  cool. 

Moj/  25. — Started  at  10  a,  m.  Valley  getting  so  narrow  as  not  to 
allow  room  for  the  road,  which  is  in  many  places  cut  from  the  rock 
on  the  side  of  the  hill,  very  narrow,  rough  and  precipitous,  rising  and 
falling  as  it  crosses  the  spurs  of  the  hills.  The  general  character  of 
the  rock  is  a  feldspar  porphyry,  succeeded,  as  the  road  ascends,  by  a 
very  coarse-grained  trachyte  porphyry,  reaching  as  far  as  Surco.  Vege- 
tation, willow,  molle,  and  many  varieties  of  the  cactus.  We  passed  on 
the  road  the  ruins  of  an  ancient  Indian  town ;  the  houses  had  been 
small,  and  built  of  stone  on  terraces  cut  from  the  mountain  side. 

At  two  we  passed  through  the  village  of  Surco,  the  largest  we  have 
seen  on  the  road.  It  appears  capable  of  holding  five  or  six  hundred 
people,  but  seemed  deserted — nearly  every  house  closed,  and  many  fall- 
ing into  decay.  Wo  were  told  that  the  inhabitants  were  away  over  the 
hills,  looking  after  their  plantations  and  Hocks,  and  that  they  n-turned 
at  night.  IJut  if  this  is  so,  judging  from  the  height  of  the  mountains 
on  each  side  of  the  village,  I  should  say  that  half  their  time  is  lost  in 
going  and  returning  from  their  work. 

Here  we  leave  the  district  caiicd  the  Coast,  and  enter  upon  that 
called  the  Sierra.  There  is  tertiana  below,  but  none  above  this.  Dr. 
Smith,  speaking  of  the  climate  of  this  district,  says,  "  that  it  is  neither 


MOYOC.  47 

winter  nor  summer,  but  one  perpetual  spring.  It  is  out  of  the  sphere 
of  frosts,  and  exempted  from  the  raw  fogs  and  sultry  heats  of  the  coast. 
The  atmospherical  currents  of  mountain  and  coast  meet  here  and  neu- 
tralize each  other;  the  extremes  of  both  disappear;  and  the  result  is 
a  delicious  climate  for  the  convalescent,  whose  tender  organs  require  a 
gentle,  uniform  temperature,  alike  removed  from  the  extremes  of  heat 
and  cold,  dryness  and  moisture.  With  this  important  fact  the  delicate 
inhabitants  of  Lima  are  perfectly  acquainted ;  and  they  are  accustomed 
to  resort  to  the  '  Cabezadas,'  or  headlands  of  valleys,  where  these  verge 
on  the  joint  air  of  mountain  and  coast,  as,  for  example,  Matucana,  the 
favorite  resting-place  of  phthisical  and  hsemoptic  individuals,  who  find 
themselves  obliged  to  retire  from  the  capital  in  order  to  recover  health 
by  visiting  those  celebrated  sites  of  convalescence,  Tarma  and  Juaxa," 
We  certainly  had  delicious  weather,  but  did  not  stay  long  enough,  of 
course,  to  pronounce  authoritatively  upon  its  general  climate. 

At  5  p.  m.,  Ave  arrived  at  the  Chacra  of  Moyoc,  belonging  to 
Ximenes.  Here  we  pitched  for  the  night,  having  travelled  about  fifteen 
miles,  which  is  our  usual  day's  journey,  between  ten  and  five.  This  is 
a  most  beautiful  little  dell,  entirely  and  closely  surrounded  by  mountains. 
The  valley  has  widened  out  so  as  to  give  room  for  some  narrow  patches 
of  corn  and  alfalfa.  The  Rimac,  here  a  "babbling  brook,"  rushes 
musically  between  its  willow-fringed  banks ;  and  the  lingering  of  the 
sunlight  upon  the  snowy  summits  of  the  now  not  distant  Cordillera, 
long  after  night  had  settled  upon  the  valley,  gave  an  eflect  to  the 
sceneiy  that  was  at  once  magical  and  enchanting. 

The  nights  in  the  Cordillera  at  this  season  are  very  beautiful.  The 
traveller  feels  that  he  is  lifted  above  the  impurities  of  the  lower  strata 
of  the  atmosphere,  and  is  breathing  air  entirely  free  from  taint.  I  was 
never  tired  of  gazing  into  the  glorious  sky,  which,  less  blue,  I  think, 
than  ours,  yet  seemed  palpable — a  dome  of  steel  lit  up  by  the  stars. 
The  stars  themselves  sparkled  with  intense  brilliancy.  A  small  pocket 
spy-glass  showed  the  satellites  of  Jupiter  with  distinctness ;  and  Gibbon 
even  declared  on  one  occasion  that  he  could  see  them  with  the  naked 
eye.  I  could  not,  but  my  sight  is  bad  at  night.  The  temperature  is 
now  getting  cool,  and  I  slept  cold  last  night,  though  with  all  my  clothes 
on,  and  covered  with  two  parts  of  a  heavy  blanket  and  a  woollen 
poncho.  The  rays  of  the  sun  are  very  powerful  in  the  day,  until  tem- 
pered by  the  S.  W.  wind,  which  usually  sets  in  about  eleven  o'clock  in 
the  morning. 

The  steward  of  Ximenes,  a  nice  old  fellow,  with  a  pretty  young  wife, 
gave  us,  at  a  reasonable  price,  pasturage  for  the  beasts  and  a  capital 


4S  SAN   MATEO. 

chupe.  The  productions  of  the  country  are  maize,  alfalfa,  and  potatoes — • 
the  maize  very  inditlerent ;  but  the  potatoes,  though  generally  small, 
are  very  fine,  particularly  the  yellow  ones.  "We  saw  here,  for  ♦jie  first 
time,  a  vegetable  of  the  potato  kind  called  Oca.  It  resembles  in 
appearance  the  Jerusalem  artichoke,  though  longer  and  slimmer ;  and 
boiled  or  roasted  it  is  very  agreeable  to  the  taste.  Richards  compared 
its  flavor  to  that  of  green  com;  I  suggested  pumpkin,  and  he  allowed 
that  it  was  between  the  two.  We  also  saw  another  vegetable  of  the 
same  species,  called  Ulluca.  This  was  more  glutinous,  and  not  so 
pleasant  to  the  taste.  Gibbon  shot  a  pair  of  beautiful  small  wild 
ducks  that  were  gambolling  in  the  stream  and  shooting  the  rapids 
with  the  speed  of  an  arrow. 

May  20. — Started  at  eleven,  and  passed  the  village  of  Matucana,  a 
mile  from  Moyoc.  This  appears  about  the  size  of  Surco,  and  is  the 
capital  of  the  province,  (still  IIuaTochiri.)  The  Guia  de  Forasteros 
states  the  number  of  its  inhabitants  at  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
thirty-seven ;  but  this  is  manifestly  too  great,  and  I  believe  that  the 
statements  of  this  book  concerning  populations  are  made  with  regard 
to  the  district  in  which  a  village  is  situated,  or  the  doclrina,OT  ecclesias- 
tical division,  of  which  the  Cura  has  charge.  Service  was  going  on  in 
the  church ;  and  Gibbon  and  Richards,  who  were  far  ahead,  had  time 
to  go  in  and  say  their  prayers. 

The  river  is  now  reduced  to  a  mountain  torrent,  raging  in  foam  over 
the  debris  of  the  porphyritic  cliffs,  which  overhang  its  bed  for  hundreds 
of  feet  in  height.  The  valley  still  occasionally  widens  out  and  gives 
room  for  a  little  cultivation.  "Where  this  is  the  case  it  is  generally 
bounded  on  one  side  or  the  other  by  cliffs  of  sandstone,  in  M-hich 
innumerable  parrots  have  perforated  holes  for  nests;  and  tlie  road  at 
these  places  lies  broad  and  level  at  their  base.  We  crossed  the  river 
frequently  on  such  bridges  as  I  have  described  at  San  l*edro  Mama,  and 
arrived  at  San  Mateo  at  half-past  6  p.  m.,  having  travelled  only 
twelve  miles.  The  barometer  shows  a  much  greater  ascent  than  wo 
have  yet  made  in  one  day's  travel.  We  pitched  in  an  old  and  aban- 
doned alfalfa  field  above  the  town,  and  got  sujiper  from  the  postmaster. 

Maij  27. — San  Mateo,  a  village  about  the  size  of  Surco  and 
Matucana,  is  situated  on  both  sides  of  the  Rimac,  and  at  an  elevation 
of  ten  thousand  two  hundred  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  The  men 
work  the  chacras  of  maize,  potatoes,  and  beans ;  and  the  "women  do  all 
the  household  work,  besides  carr}ing  their  meals  to  the  worknien  on 
tlie  farms,  over  hills  that  would  make  a  lazy  man  shudder  even  to  look 


M^ 


ill's 


'■&ft-'~ 


fV-   '  "  C'i 


S^' 


,^%»-.'*'' 


PARAC.  49 

at.  They  live  in  poverty  and  filth,  but  seem  happy  enough.  We  saw 
the  women  winnowing  the  beans  (which  were  gathered  dry  from  the 
plant)  by  collecting  them  in  pans  made  of  large  gourds,  and  flinging 
them  into  the  air ;  and  also  sifting  flour,  which  comes  from  the  other 
side  of  the  Cordillera,  about  Jauxa.  The  costume  of  the  Serrana  women 
is  different  from  that  of  the  women  of  the  coast.  It  consists  of  a  very 
narrow  skirt,  and  a  body  of  coarse  woollen  cloth,  generally  blue,  which 
comes  from  Lima,  and  is  belted  around  the  waist  with  a  broad-figured 
woollen  belt,  woven  by  themselves.  A  woollen  apron,  with  a  figured 
border,  is  worn  on  the  left  side,  hanging  from  the  right  shoulder  by  a 
strap ;  and  in  the  cold  of  the  morning  and  evening  the  shoulders  are 
covered  with  a  thick,  colored  blanket,  reaching  to  the  hips.  A  high, 
broad-brimmed  straw-hat,  with  shoes  of  raw-hide,  drawn  with  a  string 
around  the  ancle,  and  no  stockings,  complete  the  costume.  These  peo- 
ple seem  contented  with  what  they  have,  and  don't  want  money.  It 
was  with  great  difficulty  we  could  persuade  them  to  sell  us  anything, 
always  denying  that  they  had  it.  On  our  return  from  the  mines  at 
Parac,  (where  Mr.  Gibbon  had  been  sick  with  chills  and  fever,)  he  could 
not  eat  the  chupe,  which  had,  at  first,  been  made  with  char  qui., 
or  jerked  beef,  but  which  had  now  dwindled  down  to  cheese  and 
potatoes.  I  made  a  speech  to  some  curious  loafers  about  the  tent,  in 
which  I  appealed  to  their  pride  and  patriotism,  telling  them  that  I 
thought  it  strange  that  so  large  a  town  as  San  Mateo,  belonging  to  so 
famous  a  country  as  Peru,  could  not  furnish  a  sick  stranger,  who  could 
eat  nothing  else,  with  a  few  eggs.  Whereupon,  a  fellow  went  off  and 
brought  us  a  dozen,  though  he  had  just  sworn  by  the  Pope  that  there 
were  no  such  thinors  in  the  \nllao:e. 

May  28. — Mr.  Gibbon  and  I,  guided  by  a  boy,  rode  over  to  the 
hacienda  of  San  Jose  de  Fdrac,  leaving  Richards  and  Ijurra  in  charo^e 
of  the  camp.  The  ride  occupied  about  three  hours,  over  the  worst 
roads,  bordered  by  the  highest  cliffs  and  deepest  ravines  we  had  yet 
seen.  The  earth  here  shows  her  giant  skeleton  bare :  mountains,  rather 
than  rocks,  of  granite,  rear  their  gray  heads  to  the  skies;  and  our 
proximity  made  these  things  more  striking  and  sublime.  We  found, 
on  the  sides  of  the  hills,  short  grass  and  small  clover,  with  some  fine 
cattle  feeding;  and,  wherever  the  mountain  afforded  a  level  shelf, 
abundance  of  fine  potatoes,  which  the  people  were  then  gatherino-. 

I  brought  letters  from  Mr.  Prevost  to  Don  Torribio  Malarin,  the 
superintendent  of  the  mines,  who  received  us  kindly,  and  entertained 
us  with  much  hospitality.  His  house  was  comfortably  heated  with  a 
stove,  and  the  chamber  furnished  with  a  large  four-post  bedstead,  and 


50  THE    HACIENDA. 

the  biggest  and  heaviest  bureau  I  had  ever  seen.  I  was  somewhat 
surprised  at  the  sight  of  tliese — 

"  Not  that  the  things  were  ver}-  rich  or  rare, 
I  wonder'd  how  the  devil  they  got  there." 

They  must  have  come  up  in  pieces,  for  nothing  so  large  could  have 
been  fastened  on  a  mule's  back,  or  passed  entire  in  the  narrow  parts  of 
the  road. 

The  Hacienda  is  situated  near  the  head  of  a  small  valley,  which  de- 
bouchej*  upon  the  road  just  below  San  Mateo ;  the  stream  which  drains 
it  emptying  into  the  Rimac  there.  It  is  a  square,  enclosed  with  one- 
story  buildings,  consisting  of  the  mill  for  grinding  the  ore,  the  ovens  for 
toasting  it  when  ground,  the  workshops,  store-hoases,  and  dwelling- 
houses.  It  is  managed  by  a  superintendent  and  three  mayordomos,  and 
employs  about  forty  working  hands.  These  are  Indians  of  the  Sierra, 
strong,  hardy-looking  fellows,  though  generally  low  in  stature,  and  stupid 
in  expression.  They  are  silent  and  patient,  and,  having  coca  enough 
to  chew,  will  do  an  extraordinary  quantity  of  work.  They  have  their 
breakfast  of  caldo  and  ccmcha,  (toasted  maize,)  and  get  to  work  by  eight 
o'clock.  At  eleven  they  have  a  recess  of  half  an  hour,  when  they  sit 
down  near  their  place  of  work,  chat  lazily  with  each  other,  and  chew 
coca,  mixed  with  a  little  lime,  which  each  one  carries  in  a  small  gourd, 
putting  it  on  the  mass  of  coca  leaves  in  his  mouth  with  a  wire  pin 
attached  to  the  stopper  of  the  gourd  that  carries  the  lime.  Some  dex- 
terity is  necessary  to  do  this  properly  without  cauterizing  the  lips  or 
tongue.  ITiey  then  go  to  work  again  until  five,  when  they  finish  for  the 
day,  and  dine  oft'chupe.  It  has  made  mo,  with  my  tropical  habit  of  life, 
shiver  to  see  these  fellows  puddling  with  their  naked  legs  a  mass  of 
iMud  and  quicksilver  in  water  at  the  temperature  of  tliirty-eight  Faliren- 
heit. 

These  Indians  generally  live  in  huts  near  the  hacienda,  and  are  sup- 
plied from  its  store-houses.  They  are  kept  in  debt  by  tliesup]>Iies ;  and 
by  custom,  though  not  by  law,  no  one  will  employ  an  Indian  who  is  in 
debt  to  his  patron ;  so  that  ho  is  compelled  to  work  on  with  no  hope  of 
g<;tting  free  of  the  debt,  excoj)t  by  running  away  to  a  distant  part  of  the 
country  where  he  is  not  known,  which  .some  do. 

The  diseases  incident  to  this  occupation  are  indigestion,  called  empa- 
cho,  jilfurisy,  and  sometimes  the  lungs  seem  afTected  with  the  fumes 
and  dust  of  the  ore;  but,  on  the  whole,  it  docs  not  seem  an  utdiealthy 
occupation. 

The  principal  articles  furnished  from  tlie  store-house  are  maize,  coca, 
mutton,  charqui,  rum,  sugar,  cofice,  tea,  chocolate,  chancacu,  (cakes  of 


EXTRACTION    OF    SILVER.  51 

brown  sugar,)  soap,  baize,  cotton,  and  coarse  Haen  clotbs,  woollen 
cloths,  silk  Ixandkercliiefs,  foreign  ponclios,  ribbons,  silk  sasbes,  &c.,  &c., 
■which  are  supplied  to  the  Indian  at  about  one  hundred  per  cent, 
advance  on  their  cost  at  Lima,  and  charged  against  his  wages,  which 
amount  to  half  a  dollar  a  day,  with  half  a  dollar  more  if  he  work  at 
night. 

The  manner  of  getting  the  silver  from  the  ore,  or  beneficiating  it,  as 
it  is  called  in  Peru,  is  this :  The  ore,  after  it  is  dug  from  the  mine  and 
brought  to  the  surface,  is  broken  into  pieces  about  the  size  of  a  Madeira 
nut  or  English  walnut,  and  sent  to  the  hacienda,  in  hide-bags,  on  the 
backs  of  llamas  or  mules.  (The  hacienda  is  always  situated  on  the 
nearest  stream  to  the  mine,  for  the  advantages  of  the  water-power  in 
turning  the  mill.)  There  it  is  reduced,  by  several  grindings  and  siftings, 
to  an  impalpable  powder.  The  mill  consists  of  a  horizontal  water- 
wheel,  carrying  a  vertical  axis,  which  comes  up  through  the  floor  of 
the  mill,  the  wheel  being  below.  To  the  top  of  this  axis  is  bolted  a 
large  cross-beam,  and  to  the  ends  of  the  beam  are  slung,  by  chains, 
hea\'y,  rough  stones,  each  about  'a  ton  weight.  These  stones,  by  the 
turning  of  the  axis,  are  carried  around  nearly  in  contact  with  a 
concave  bed  of  smoother  and  harder  rock,  built  upon  the  floor  of  the 
mill,  and  through  which  the  axis  comes  up.  The  ore  is  poured  by 
the  basket-full  upon  the  bed,  and  the  large  hanging  rocks  grind  it  to 
powder,  which  pours  out  of  holes  made  in  the  periphery  of  the  bed. 
This  is  shifted  through  fine  wire  sieves,  and  the  coarser  parts  are  put  in 
the  mill  again  for  re-grinding.  The  ground  ore,  or  harina,  is  then 
mixed  with  salt  (at  the  rate  of  fifty  pounds  of  salt  to  every  six  hundred 
pounds  of  harina)  and  taken  to  the  ovens  (which  are  of  earth)  and 
toasted.  I  could  not  learn  the  quantity  of  heat  necessary  to  be  applied ; 
it  is  judged  of  by  experiment. 

The  fuel  used  in  these  ovens  is  the  dung  of  cattle,  called  taquia  ;  it 
costs  three  cents  for  twenty -five  pounds.  The  ovens  here  burn  one 
million  five  hundred  thousand  pounds  yearly.  After  the  harina  is 
toasted,  it  is  carried  in  hide-bags  to  the  square  enclosed  in  the 
buildings  of  the  hacienda,  and  laid  in  piles  of  about  six  hundred 
pounds  each  upon  the  floor.  This  floor  is  of  flat  stones,  but  should  be 
of  flags  cemented  together ;  because  the  stones  have  often  to  be  taken 
up  to  collect  the  quicksilver,  many  pounds  of  which  run  down  between 
the  interstices.  Ten  of  these  piles  are  laid  in  a  row,  making  a  caxoii 
of  six  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds.  The  piles  are  then 
moistened  with  water,  and  quicksilver  is  sprinkled  on  them  through  a 
woollen  cloth.      (The  quantity  of  mercury,  which  depends  upon  the 


52  EXTRACTION    OF    SILVER. 

quantity  of  silver  in  the  ore,  is  judged  of  beforehand  by  experiments  on 
a  small  scale.)     The  mass  is  well  mixed  by  treading  with  the  feet  and 
■working  with  hoes.     A  little  calcined  iron  pyrites,  called  magisiml^  is 
also  added — about  four  pounds  to  the  caxon.     The  pile  is  often  exam- 
ined to  see  that  the  amalgamation  is  going  on  well.    In  some  conditions 
the  mass  is  called  hot ;  in  othei-s,  cold.     The  state  of  heat  is  cured  by 
adding  a  little  lime  and  rotten  dung ;  that  of  cold,  by  a  little  magistral 
or  oxide  of  iron.     Practice  and  experience  alone  will  enable  one  to 
judge  of  these  states.     It  is  then  left  to  stand  for  eight  or  nine  days, 
(occasionally  re-trodden  and  re-worked,)  until  the  amalgamation  is  com- 
plete, which  is  also  judged  of  by  experiment.    It  is  then  carried  to  an 
elevated  platform  of  stone,  and  thrown,  in  small  quantities  at  a  time, 
into  a  well  sunk  in  the  middle  of  the  platform ;  a  stream  of  water  is 
turned  on,  and  four  or  five  men  trample  and  wash  it  with  their  feet. 
The  anialgain  sinks  to  the  bottom,  and  the  mud  and  water  are  let  off, 
by  an  aperture  in  the  lower  part  of  the  well,  into  a  smaller  well  below, 
lined  with  a  raw-hide,  where  one  man  carries  on  the  washing  with  his 
feet.     More  amalgam  sinks  to  the  bottom  of  this  well,  and  the  mud 
and  water  again  flow  off  though  a  long  wooden  trough,  lined  with 
green   baize,  into  a  pit  prepared  for  it,  where  the  water  percolates 
throuo-h  the  soil,  leaving-  the  mud  to  be  again  re-washed.     When  the 
washing  is  finished  for  the  day,  the  green  baize  lining  of  the  trough, 
with  many  particles  of  the  amalgam  clinging  to  it,  is  washed  in  the 
larger  well.     The  water,  which  by  this  time  is  clear,  is  let  oft',  and  all 
the  amalgam,  called  ^^pella''  is  collected,  put  in  hide-bags,  and  weighed. 
Two  caxons  are  washed  in  a  day.     The  jylla  is  then  put  into  conical 
bags  of  coarse  linen,  which  arc  hung  up,  and  the  weight  of  the  nuiss 
presses  out  a  quantity  of  the  quicksilver,  which  oozes  through  the 
interstices  of  the  linen,  ami  is  caught  in  vessels  below.     The  mass,  now 
dry,  and  somewhat  harder  than  putty,  is  carried  to  the  ovens,  where  the 
remainder  of  the  quicksilver  is  driven  off  by  heat,  and  the  residue  is 
the  pl(tta  2)hla,  or  pure  silver.     This  is  melted,  run  into  bars,  stamped 
according  to  the  Inj  or  quality  of  the  silver,  and  sent  to  Lima,  either  for 
the  mint  or  for  exportation. 

In  the  refining  process  the  fumes  of  the  mercury  are  condensed,  and 
it  is  used  again.  Two  pounds,  however,  are  lost  to  every  pound  of 
silver.  The  proportion  of  pure  silver  in  the  pcUa  seca,  or  amalgam, 
afler  the  draining  ofl'  of  the  mercury  tliro\igh  the  bag,  is  about  twi-nty- 
two  per  cent.  A  careful  experiment  made  by  Mr.  Gait,  a  jeweller  of 
this  city,  on  a  bit  of  the  pella  which  I  brought  home  from  Cerro  Pasco, 
gave  but  eighteen  aud  thirty-three  per  cent,  of  pure  silver. 


THE    MINES.  53 

Salt  is  wortli  at  this  place  three  reals  (3T-|  cents)  the  arroba,  and 
mercury  costs  one  dollar  the  pound  in  Lima.  The  superintendent  is 
paid  twelve  hundred  dollars  yearly ;  three  mayordomos,  thirty  dollars 
each,  monthly ;  the  corporals,  or  heads  of  the  working  gangs  in  the 
mines,  twenty  dollars  ;  the  miners,  sixty-two  and  a  half  cents  per  day, 
(as  much  more  if  they  work  at  night ;)  and  the  laborers  at  the  hacienda, 
fifty  cents.  This,  however,  is  nominal,  being  more  than  swallowed  up 
by  the  supplies.  The  estimated  yearly  expenses  of  these  mines  are 
thirty  thousand  dollars,  and  the  annual  yield,  seventy  thousand  dollars. 
A  caxon,  of  six  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  of  the  ground 
ore,  yields,  by  the  assay  on  the  small  scale,  fifty  marks,  though  only 
twenty-five  or  thirty  are  obtained  by  this  process,  showing  a  loss  of 
nearly  one-half.  The  quantity  of  silver  obtained  from  the  relates^  or 
re-washings,  is  about  twenty  per  cent,  of  the  whole  :  that  is,  if  a  caxon 
yield  twenty-five  marks  at  the  first  washing,  the  re-washing  will  give 
five. 

An  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  value  of  these  mines  when  I  state  that 
at  Cerro  Pasco,  which  is  seventy-five  miles  further  from  Lima,  and  on 
the  other  side  of  the  Cordillera,  ore,  which  yields  only  six  marks  to  the 
caxon,  will  give  a  profit  to  the  miner,  though  it  is  saddled  with  some 
duties — such  as  those  for  drainage  and  for  public  works,  from  which  the 
ore  of  Parac  is  exempt.  Malarin,  the  superintendent,  said  that  the 
caxon  must  yield  fifteen  marks  here  to  pay.  But  granting  this,  I  do 
not  wonder  at  his  expression,  that  these  mines  would  in  a  few  years  ren- 
der my  countryman,  Mr.  Prevost,  the  richest  man  in  the  country,  {^'■El 
hombre  mas  j^oderoso,  que  hay  en  el  Peru")  he  owning  a  third  of  them. 

May  29. — Visited  the  mines.  These  are  situated  down  the  valley 
with  regard  to  the  hacienda,  and  are  two  leagues  W.  S.  W.  of  it.  They 
are  much  nearer  San  Mateo  than  is  the  hacienda,  but  there  is  no  road 
to  them  from  that  village.  The  road,  or  rather  path,  lay  along  the 
side  of  the  mountain,  and  zigzagged  up  and  down  to  turn  precipices, 
now  running  near  the  banks  of  the  little  stream,  and  now  many  hun- 
dreds of  feet  above  it.  The  ride  was  bad  enough  at  this  time — it 
must  be  frigiitful  in  the  rainy  season ;  though  Malarin  says  he  some- 
times travels  it  on  horseback.  This  I  am  sure  I  should  not  do  ;  and 
when  these  paths  are  slippery  I  would  much  prefer  trusting  to  my  own 
legs  than  to  those  of  any  other  animal.  Many  persons  suffer  much  in 
riding  amongst  these  precipices  and  ravines.  Dr.  Smith  knew  a  gen- 
tleman, Avho,  "  familiar  with  downs  and  lawns,  was  affected  at  the  steeps 
of  the  Paxaron  with  a  giddiness  that  for  some  time  after  disordered  his 
imagination  ;"  and  one  of  a  party  of  English  officers,  who  crossed  the 


54  THE    MINES. 

Cordillera  at  Valparaiso  whilst  I  was  there,  had  to  return  without  cross- 
inf,  because  he  could  not  bear  the  sight  of  the  sheer  descents. 

The  valley  of  Parac  lies  about  east  and  west,  and  the  veins  of  siiver 
on  the  sides  of  the  mountains  E.  N.  E.  and  W.  S.  W.,  thus  crossing 
the  valley  diagonally.  There  are  four  mines  belonging  to  the  establish- 
ment, which  employ  about  sixty  workmen,  tliough  more  could  be  em- 
ployed to  advantage.  These  men  are  directed  by  a  mayordomo  and 
four  corporals.  They  are  divided  into  two  gangs  for  each  mine :  one 
party  will  go  on  duty  at  7  p.  m.  and  work  till  5  a.  m.,  when  they  come 
out,  rest  two  hours,  and  go  on  again  till  1  p.  m.  They  are  then 
relieved  by  tbe  other  party.  This  is  very  hard  work,  for  the  mines 
arc  very  wet  and  cold.  The  getter-out  of  the  ore  wields,  with  one 
hand,  a  hammer  of  thirty  pounds,  and  the  carriers  of  the  ore  bear  a 
burden  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  pounds  from  the  bottom  of  the  shaft 
to  the  surface — a  distance  in  this  case  of  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile,  of  a 
very  steep  and  rough  ascent.  "When  I  first  met  one  of  these  men 
toiling  up  in  the  dark,  I  thought,  from  the  dreadful  groans  I  heard 
before  I  saw  him,  that  some  one  was  dying  near  me  ;  but  he  does  this 
"  a  purpose,"  for  when  we  met  he  had  breath  enough  to  give  me  a 
courteous  salutation,  and  beg  a  paper  cigar.  Boys  commence  this 
work  at  eight  years  of  age,  and  spend  probably  the  greater  part  of 
their  lives  in  the  mine. 

The  mine  calle<l  Sta.  Rosa,  which  we  \-isited,  has  a  perpendicular 
depth  of  five  hundred  and  twenty  feet — that  is,  the  bottom  of  the 
.shaft,  which  penetrates  tlie  mountain  at  an  angle  from  the  horizon  of 
about  25°,  is  five  hundred  and  twenty  feet  below  the  mouth  of  iL  By 
the  mining  laws  the  shaft  {canon)  of  the  mine  must  be  three  feet  eight 
inches  high,  three  feet  five  inches  wide,  and  arched  for  security.  The 
superincumbent  earth  frequently  requires  to  bo  supported  by  beams  of 
woo<l  laid  against  each  other  in  form  of  Gothic  arch.  I  could  not  learn 
how  much  ore  a  man  could  get  out  in  a  day,  for  it  is  a  very  uncertain 
quantity,  depending  upon  the  hardness  of  the  rock  tliat  encloses  the 
vein.  Malarin  tt)ld  us  that  he  harl  instructed  the  workmen  not  to  blast 
whilst  we  were  in  the  mine,  because  the  dreadful  reverberation  of  sound 
often  had  an  unhappy  effect  upon  people  not  accustomed  to  it,  which, 
as  we  were  men  who  sometimes  dealt  in  heavy  artillery,  we  did  not 
thank  him  for. 

licturniiig  from  the  mine  wo  mot  a  drove  of  llamas  on  their  way 
from  the  hacienda.  Tliis  is  cjuito  an  imposing  sight,  especially  when 
the  drove  is  encountered  suddenly  at  a  turn  of  the  road.  The  leader, 
which  is  always    elected  on  acc<nmt  of  his  superior  heiglit,  has  his  head 


THE    LLAMA.  55 


decorated  with  tufts  of  colored  woollen  fringe,  hung  with  little  bells ;  and 
his  extreme  height,  (often  six  feet,)  gallant  and  graceful  carriage,  pointed 
ear,  restless  eye,  and  qiiivering  lip,  as  he  faces  you  for  a  moment,  make 
him  as  striking  an  object  as  one  can  well  conceive.  Upon  pressing 
on  him  he  bounds  aside,  either  up  or  down  the  cliff,  and  is  follo^ved  by 
the  herd  scrambling  over  places  that  would  be  impassable  for  the  mule 

or  the  ass. 

They  travel  immense  distances,  but  by  short  stages — not  more  than 
nine  or  ten  miles  per  day.     It  is  necessary,  in  long  journeys,^  to  have 
double  the  number  required  to  carry  the  cargo,  so  as  to  give  them 
relays.     The  burden  of  the  llama  is  about  one  hundred  and  thirty 
pounds ;  he  will  not  carry  more,  and  will  be  beat  to  death  rather  than 
move  when  he  is  overloaded  or  tired.     The  males  only  are  worked;  the 
females  are  kept  for  the  breed.     They  appear  gentle  and  docile,  but 
when  irritated  they  have  a  very  savage  look,  and  spit  at  the  object  of 
their  anger  with  great  venom.     The  spittle  is  said  to  be  very  acrid,  and 
will  raise  blisters  where  it  touches  the  skin.     We  saw  none  in  the  wild 
state.     They  are  bred  on  the  haciendas  in  great  numbers.     "We  had  no 
opportunity  of  seeing  the  guanaco  or  alpacca,  (other  varieties  of  the 
Peruvian  sheep,)  though  we  now  and  then,  in  crossing  the  mountains, 
caught  a  glimpse  of  the  wild  and  shy  vicuna.     These  go  in  herds  of 
ten  or  fifteen  females,  accompanied  by  one  male,  who  is  ever  on  the 
alert.     On  the  approach  of  danger  he  gives  warning  by  a  shrill  whistle, 
and  his  charge  makes  off  with  the  speed  of  the  wind.     The  woffl  of  the 
vicuna  is  much  finer  and  more  valuable  than  that  of  the  other  species — 
it  is  maroon-colored. 

A  good  and  learned  Presbyter,  Dr.  Cabrera,  whose  portrait  hangs  in 
the  library  at  Lima,  by  patience  and  gentleness,  succeeded  in  obtaining 
a  cross  between  the  alpacca  and  vicuna,  which  he  called  i^co  vicuna, 
the  wool  of  which  is  said  to  combine  the  fineness  of  that  of  the  vicuna 
and  the  length  of  staple  of  that  of  the  alpacca.  The  value  of  vicuna 
wool,  at  the  port  of  shipment,  was,.in  1838,  one  hundred  dollars  the 
hundred  weight ;  that  of  the  alpacca,  twenty-five  dollars  ;  and  that  of 
the  sheep,  from  twelve  to  fifteen.  Peru  shipped  from  the  ports  of 
Arica,  Callao,  and  Islay,  dm-ing  the  four  years  between  1837  and  1840, 
inclusive,  wool  of  the  sheep,  alpacca,  and  vicuna,  to  the  value  of  two 
million  two  hundred  and  forty-nine  thousand  and  thirty-nine  dollars. 
(Castelnau,  vol.  4,  page  120.) 

Were  any  care  taken  in  the  rearing  of  these  wild  sheep  of  Peru,  the 
country  might  draw  a  great  revenue  from  the  sale  of  their  wool. 

May  30.— Dull,  rainy  day.     Gibbon  laid  up  with  chills  and  fever, 


56  THE    ROAD. 

which  he  either  brought  from  Lima,  or  took  yesterday  in  the  damp, 
cold  mine.  He  would  drink  as  much  cold  water  as  he  wanted,  though 
our  friends  held  up  their  hands  in  astonishment,  and  said  he  would-kill 
himself.  Fire  in  a  stove  is  very  comfortable;  the  thermometer,  during 
the  day,  standing  at  60°  Fah. 

May  31. — Beautiful  day.  Then,  at  5  a  m.,  36°.  The  general 
character  of  the  rock  is  red  porphyry.  There  is  grass  for  pasturage ; 
and  the  hill  sides  are  covered  with  a  bush  of  some  eight  or  ten  feet 
high,  l>earing  bunches  of  blue  flowers,  resembling  our  lilac.  There  are 
several  kinds  of  stinging  nettle,  one  of  which,  that  bears  a  small  yellow 
flower,  Malarin  says,  will  cause  gangrene  and  death.  I  liad  no  disposi- 
tion to  try  it ;  but  I  doubt  the  statement  So  dangerous  a  tliinij  would 
scarcely  be  so  plentiful  where  the  bare-legged  herdsman  and  miner  are 
exposed  to  it.     Returned  with  Gibbon  to  San  Mateo. 

June  1. — Found  Richards  sick  and  the  muleteer  growling  at  the 
delay  ;  loaded  up,  and  got  oflf  at  eleven.  At  twelve  the  valley  narrowed 
to  a  dell  of  about  fifty  feet  in  width ;  the  stream  occupying  its  whole 
breadth,  with  the  exception  of  a  narrow,  but  smooth  and  level  mule- 
path  on  its  right  bank.  This  is  a  very  remarkable  place.  On  each 
side  the  rock  of  red  poqthyrj'  rises  perpendicularly  for  full  five  hundred 
feet.  In  places  it  overhangs  the  stream  and  road.  The  traveller  feels 
as  if  he  were  parsing  through  some  timnel  of  the  Titans.  The  upper 
exit  from  the  dell  is  so  steep  that  steps  have  been  cut  in  the  rock  for 
the  mule's  feet ;  and  the  stream  rushes  down  the  rock-obstructed 
declivity  in  foaming  fiiry,  flinging  clouds  of  white  spray  over  the  trav- 
eller, and  rendering  the  path  slippery  and  dangerous. 

Passed  Chhjllu  and  Bella  Vista,  mining  haciendas.  The  country  is 
quite  thickly  settled,  there  being  houses  in  sight  all  the  way  between 
these  two  places.  The  barley  here  does  not  give  grain,  but  is  cut  for 
fodder.  The  alfalfa  has  given  way  to  short,  thin  grass;  and  we  begin 
to  find  difficulty  in  getting  fixxl  for  the  beasts.  Wo  saw  c^ibbages 
growing  in  the  gardens  of  Chi^Ua,  which  is  a  straggling  village  of 
some  three  or  four  hundred  inhabitants.  Just  after  passing  ChigUa  the 
mountains  looked  low,  giving  the  apjwarance  of  a  rolling  countni',  and 
were  clotlied  with  verdure  to  the  top.  Upon  turning  a  comer  of  the 
road  the  snow-covered  summits  of  the  Cordillera  were  close  before  us, 
also  looking  low  ;  and  wlien  the  snow  or  verdure  suffered  the  earth  to 
l>e  seen,  this  was  of  a  deep  pink  eolor.  The  general  character  of  the 
rock  is  conglomerate.  "We  stopped  at  four  at  the  tambo  of  Accha- 
huarcu,  where  we  pitched  and  botiglit  barley  straw  (alca^er)  at  the  rate 
of  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  armful,  called  "  tercio,"  which  is  jast 


SUMMIT    OF    THE    CORDILLERA."  57 

enough  for  one  mule.  The  mercury  in  the  barometer  being  below  the 
scaled  we  had  to  cut  away  the  brass  casing  in  front,  and  mark  the  height 
of  the  column  on  the  inside  of  the  case  with  a  pen-knife. 

June  2.— Got  off  at  half-past  ten.     Road  tolerably  good,  and  not 
very  precipitous.     At  twelve  we  arrived  on  a  level  with  the  lowest  hne 
of  snow.     We  were  marking  the  barometer,  when  a  traveller  rode  up, 
who  proved  to  be  an  old  schoolmate  of  mine,  whom  I  had  not  seen  or 
even  heard  of  since  we  were  boys.    The  meeting  at  this  place  was  an 
extraordinary  and  very  agreeable  occun-ence.     It  was  also  fortunate  for 
me,  for  my  friend  was  head  machinist  at  the  mines  of  Morococha,  and 
gave  us  a  note  to  the  administrator,  which  secured  us  a  hospitable  re- 
ception and  an  interesting  day  or  two.     Without  this  we  should  have 
been  compelled  to  pass  on,  for  pasturage  here  is  very  scant,  and  the 
people  of  the  mines  have  to  pay  a  high  price  for  their  barley  straw,  and 
are  not  willing  to  give  it  to  every  stray  traveller.     At  2  p.  m.  we 
arrived  at  the  highest  point  of  the  road,  called  the  pass  of  Antarangra, 
or  copper  rock.     (The  pass  of  the  Piedra  Parada,  or  standing  rock, 
which  passes  by  the  mines  of  Yauli,  crosses  a  few  miles  to  our  right.) 
Some  scattering  mosses  lay  on  a  hill-side  above  us;  but  Gibbon  and  I 
spurred  our  panting  and  trembling  mules  to  the  summit  of  the  hill, 
and  had  nothing  around  us  but  snow,  granite,  and  dark  gray  porphyry. 
I  was  disappointed  in  the  view  from  this  place.     The  peaks  of  the 
Cordillera  that  were  above  us  looked  low,  and  presented  the  appearance 
of  a  hilly  country,  at  home,  on  a  winter-day;  while  the  contrast  between 
the  snowy  hills  and  the  bright  green  of  lower  ranges,  together  with  the 
view  of  the  placid  little  lakes  which  lie  so  snug  and  still  in  their  midst, 
gave  an  air  of  quiet  beauty  to  the  scene  very  distinct  from  the  savage 
and  desolate  gi-andeur  I  had  expected. 

Gibbon,  with  the  camera  lucida,  sketched  the  Cordillera.  I  ex- 
pended a  box  of  matches  in  boiling  the  snow  for  the  atmospheric 
pressure;  and  poor  Richards  lay  shivering  on  the  ground,  enveloped  in 
our  jyillons,  a  martyr  to  the  veta. 

Veta  is  the  sickness  caused  by  the  rarity  of  the  atmosphere  at  these 
great  elevations.  The  Indians  call  it  veta,  or  vein,  because  they  be- 
lieve it  is  caused  by  veins  of  metal  diffusing  around  a  poisonous  infection. 
It  is  a  remarkable  thing,  that,  although  this  affection  must  be  caused  by 
absence  of  atmospheric  pressure,  yet  in  no  case  except  this,  (and  Rich- 
ards was  ill  before,)  that  I  have  known  or  read  of,  has  it  been  felt  at  the 
greatest  elevation,  but  always  at  a  point  below  this— sometimes  on  one 
side,  sometimes  on  the  other.  The  affection  displays  itself  in  a  violent 
headache,  with  the  veins  of  the  head  swollen  and  turgid  a  difficulty  of 


58  REFLECTIONS. 

respiration,  and  cold  extremities.  The  smell  of  garlic  is  said  to  alienate 
the  symptoms ;  and  the  arrieros  generally  anoint  their  cattle  over  the 
eyes,  and  on  the  forehead,  with  an  unguent  made  of  tallow,  garlic,  and 
wild  marjoram,  as  a  preventive,  before  attempting  the  ascent.  1  did 
not  observe  that  our  animals  were  affected,  though  they  trembled  and 
breathed  hard,  which,  I  think,  was  attributable  to  the  steepness  of  the 
hill  up  which  we  rode.  The  barometer  stood  at  16.730,  indicating 
an  elevation  of  sixteen  thousand  and  forty-four  feet.  Water  boiled  at 
182°.5  ;  temperature  of  the  air,  43°. 

The  road  hence  is  cut  along  the  flank  of  the  mountain,  at  whose  base 
lies  a  pretty  little  lake.  The  hacienda  of  Morococha  is  situated  on  the 
banks  of  a  second,  which  communicates  with  it;  and  this  again  pours 
its  waters,  by  a  small  and  gentle  stream,  into  a  third,  below.  These  are, 
respectively,  Huacracocha^  or  Horn  lake;  Morococha,  or  Painted  lake, 
(from  the  variety  of  colors  which  its  placid  surface  reflects  from  the  red, 
green,  and  yellow  of  the  surrounding  mountains ;)  and  HucLscacochay  or 
Rope  lake. 

Though  not  yet  sixty  miles  from  the  sea,  we  had  crossed  the  great 
"divide"  which  separates  the  waters  of  the  Atlantic  from  those  of  the 
Pacific.  The  last  steps  of  our  mules  had  made  a  striking  change  in  our 
geographical  relations ;  so  suddenly  and  so  quickly  had  we  been  cut  off 
from  all  connexion  with  the  Pacific,  and  placed  upon  waters  that 
rippled  and  sparkled  joyously  as  they  danced  by  our  feet  to  join  the 
glad  waves  of  the  ocean  that  wash  the  shores  of  our  own  dear  land. 
They  whispered  to  me  of  home,  and  my  heart  went  along  with  them. 
I  thought  of  Maury,  with  his  researches  concerning  the  currents  of  the 
sea;  and,  recollecting  the  close  physical  connexion  pointed  out  by  him 
as  existing  between  these — the  waters  of  the  Amazon  and  those  of  our 
own  majestic  Mississippi — I  musingly  dropped  a  bit  of  green  moss, 
plucked  from  the  hill-side,  upon  the  bosom  of  the  placid  lake  of  Moro- 
cocha; and  as  it  floated  along  I  followed  it,  in  imagination,  down  through 
the  luxurious  climes,  the  beautiful  skies,  and  enchanting  scenery  of  the 
tropics,  to  the  mouth  of  the  great  river;  thence  across  the  Carribbean 
»ea,  through  the  Yucatan  pass,  into  the  Gulf  of  Mexico;  thence  along 
the  Gulf-stream ;  and  so  out  upon  the  ocean,  off  the  shores  of  the  "Land 
of  Flowers."  Here  I  fancied  it  might  meet  witli  silent  little  mes- 
sengers cAst  by  the  hands  of  sympathizing  friends  and  countrymen  high 
up  on  the  head -waters  of  the  Missi8«ij>jii,  or  away  in  the  "  Far  West," 
upon  the  distant  fountains  of  the  Missouri. 

It  wa"*,  indee<i,  but  a  bit  of  moss  floating  on  the  water ;   but  as  I 
mused,  fancy,  awakened  and  stimulated  by  surrounding  circumstances, 


REFLECTIONS.  *  59 

had  already  converted  it  into  a  skiff  manned  by  fairies,  and  bound  upon 
a  mission  of  high  import,  bearing  messages  of  peace  and  good-will, 
telling  of  commerce  and  navngation,  of  settlement  and  cinlization, 
of  religious  and  political  liberty,  from  the  "King  of  Rivers"  to  the 
"  Father  of  Waters ;"  and,  possibly,  meeting  in  the  Florida  pass,  and 
"  speaking,"  through  a  trumpet  louder  than  the  tempest*  spirits  sent 
down  by  the  Naiads  of  Lake  Itaska,  with  greetings  to  Morococha. 

I  was  now,  for  the  first  time,  fairly  in  the  field  of  my  operations.  I 
had  been  sent  to  explore  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon,  to  sound  its 
streams,  and  to  report  as  to  their  navigability.  I  was  commanded  to 
examine  its  fields,  its  forests,  and  its  rivers,  that  I  might  gauge  their 
capabilities,  active  and  dormant,  for  trade  and  commerce  with  the 
States  of  Christendom,  and  make  known  to  the  spirit  and  enterprise  of 
the  age  the  resources  which  lie  in  concealment  there,  waiting  for  the 
touch  of  civilization  and  the  breath  of  the  steam-engine  to  give  them 
animation,  life,  and  palpable  existence. 

Before  us  lay  this  immense  field,  dressed  in  the  robes  of  everlasting 
summer,  and  embracing  an  area  of  thousands  upon  thousands  of  square 
miles  on  which  the  footfall  of  civilized  man  had  never  been  heard. 
Behind  us  towered,  in  forbidding  grandeur,  the  crests  and  peaked 
summits  of  the  Andes,  clad  in  the  garb  of  eternal  winter.  The 
contrast  was  striking,  and  the  field  inviting.  But  who  were  the 
laborers?  Gibbon  and  I.  "We  were  all.  The  rest  were  not  even 
gleaners.  But  it  was  well.  The  expedition  had  been  planned  and 
arranged  at  home  vnth  admirable  judgment  and  consummate  sagacity; 
for,  had  it  been  on  a  grand  scale,  commensurate  with  its  importance,  or 
even  larger  than  it  was,  it  would  have  broken  down  with  its  own 
weight. 

Though  the  waters  where  I  stood  were  bound  on  their  way  to  meet 
the  streams  of  our  Northern  Hemisphere,  and  to  bring,  for  all  the 
practical  purposes  of  commerce  and  navigation,  the  mouth  of  the 
Amazon  and  the  mouth  of  the  Mississippi  into  one,  and  place  it  before 
our  own  doors;  yet,  from  the  head  of  navigation  on  one  stream  to  the 
head  of  navigation  on  the  other,  the  distance  to  be  sailed  could  not  be 
less  than  ten  thousand  miles.  Vast,  many,  and  great,  doubtless,  are 
the  varieties  of  climates,  soils,  and  productions  within  such  a  range. 
The  importance  to  the  world  of  settlement,  cultivation,  and  commerce 
in  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon  cannot  be  over-estimated.  With  the 
climates  of  India,  and  of  all  the  habitable  portions  of  the  earth,  piled 
one  above  the  other  in  quick  succession,  tillage  and  good  husbandry 
here  would  transfer  the  productions  of  the  East  to  this  magnificent 


60  REFLECTIONS. 

river  basin,  aud  place  them  within  a  few  days'  easy  sail  of  Europe  and 
the  United  States. 

Only  a  fi'w  miles  back  we  had  first  entered  the  famous  mininfr  .listrict 
of  Peru.  A  large  portion  of  the  silver  which  constitutes  the  circulation 
of  the  world  was  dug  from  the  range  of  mountains  upon  which  we  are 
standing;  and  most  of  it  came  from  that  slojie  of  them  which  is 
drained  otf  into  the  Amazon.  Is  it  possible  for  commerce  and  navi- 
gation up  and  down  this  majestic  water-course  and  its  beautiful 
tributaries  to  turn  the  flow  of  this  silver  stream  from  its  western 
course  to  the  Pacific,  and  conduct  it  with  steamers  down  the  Amazon 
to  the  United  States,  there  to  balance  the  stream  of  gold  with  which 
we  are  likely  to  be  flooded  from  California  and  Australia  ? 

Questions  which  I  could  not  answer,  and  reflections  which  I  could 
not  keep  back,  crowded  upon  me.  Oppressed  with  their  weight,  and 
the  magnitude  of  the  task  before  me,  I  turned  slowly  and  sadly  away, 
secretly  lamenting  my  own  want  of  ability,  and  sincerely  regretting 
that  the  duty  before  me  had  not  been  assigned  to  abler  and  better 
hands. 


MINES    OF   MOROCOCHA.  61 


CHAPTER  IV. 

Mines  of  Morococha— A  Yankee's  house— Mountain  of  Puy-puy— Splendid  view— 
Pachachaca— Lava  stream— Chain  bridge  at  Oroya— Descent  into  the 
valley  of  Tarma—Tatma— American  physician— Customs— Dress— Eeligious 
observances— Muleteers  and  mules— General  Otero— Farming  in  the  Sierra- 
Road  to  Chanchamayo— Perils  of  travel— Gold  mines  of  Matichacra— View 
of  the  Montana- Fort  San  Eamon— Indians  of  Chanchamayo— Cultivation. 

We  arrived  at  Morococha  at  5  p.  m.  This  is  a  copper  mining 
hacienda,  belonging  to  some  German  brothers  named  Pfliicker,  of 
Lima,  who  own,  also,  several  silver  mines  of  the  neighborhood.  The 
copper  and  silver  of  these  mountains  are  intimately  mixed ;  they  are 
both  got  out  by  smelting,  though  this  operation,  as  far  as  regarded  the 
silver,  had  been  abandoned,  and  they  were  now  beginning  the  process 
of  extracting  the  silver,  by  the  mode  of  grinding  and  washing— such  as 
I  have  described  at  Parac— after  having  tried  the  via  humida  (or 
method  of  washing  in  barrels,  used  in  Saxony)  and  failed. 

The  copper  ore  is  calcined  in  the  open  air,  in  piles  consisting  of 

alternate  layers  of  ore  and  coal,  which  burn  for  a  month.     The  ore  thus 

calcined  is   taken  to  ovens,  built  of  brick  imported  from  the   United 

States,  and  sufficient  heat  is  employed  to  melt  the  copper,  which  runs 

off  into  moulds  below ;  the  scoria  being  continually  drawn  off  with 

long  iron  hoes.     The  copper  in  this  state  is  called  exe  ;  it  has   about 

fifty  per  cent,  of  pure  copper,  the  residue  being  silver,  iron,  &c.,  &c.     It 

is  worth  fifteen  cents  the  pound  in  England,  where  it  is  refined.     There 

is  a  mine  of  fine  coal  eighteen  miles  from  the  hacienda,  which  yields 

an  abundant  supply.     It  is  bituminous,  but  hard,  and  of  great  brilliancy. 

The  hacienda  employs  about  one  hundred  hands ;  more  are  desired,  but 

they  cannot  be  had  at  this  time,  because  it  is  harvest,  and  the  Indians 

are  gathering  the  corn,  bariey,  and  beans  of  the  valleys  below.     A  man 

will  get  out  about  one  thousand  pounds  of  copper  ore  in  a  day.     I  do 

not  think  the  mines  were  at  work  during  our  stay;  at  least,  I  saw  or 

heard  nothing  of  them.     I  could  not  either  get  statistics  concerning  the 

yield  of  these  mines  or  the  cost  of  working  them,  and  I  thought  that  I 

noticed  some  reserve  upon  this  subject.     The  director  told  me  that  the 

silver  ore  of  this  region  was  very  rich,  and  spoke  of  specimens  that 

yielded  one  thousand,  and  even  fifteen  hundred,  marks  to  the  caxon. 


62  A  Yankee's  house. 

The  mining  business  of  the  hacienda  is  conducted  by  a  director,  an 
intelligent  and  gentlemanly  young  German,  named  Richard  Von 
Durfeldt ;  and  its  fiscal  afi'airs  and  general  business,  by  an  adminis- 
trator, a  fine-looking  young  Spaniard,  Don  Jose  Fco.  de  Lizarralde, 
■whose  kindly  courtesy  we  shall  long  remember.  The  engineer,  or 
machinist,  is  my  friend  and  schoolmate  Shepherd,  who  seemed  to  be  a 
"  Jack  of  all  trades" — blacksmith,  carpenter,  watch-maker,  and  doctor. 
His  room  was  quite  a  curiosity,  and  bespoke  plainly  enough  the  Ameri- 
can. I  never  saw  so  many,  difi'erent  things  gathered  together  in  so 
small  a  place :  shelves  of  fine  standard  books ;  a  dispensary  for  physic ; 
all  manner  of  tools,  from  the  sledge-hammer  and  the  whip-saw  to  the 
delicate  instruments  of  the  watch-maker;  parts  of  watches  lying  under 
bell-glasses  ;  engravings  hanging  around  the  walls,  with  a  great  chart, 
setting  forth  directions  for  the  treatment  of  all  manner  of  diseases  and 
accidents ;  horse  furniture,  saddle-bags,  boots,  shoes,  and  every  variety 
of  garment,  from  the  heavy  woollen  poncho  of  the  m<in  to  the  more 
delicate  cotton  petticoat  of  the  woman ;  for  my  friend  has  a  pretty 
young  Sierra  wife,  who  took  great  pleasure  in  talking  to  me  about  the 
home  and  relations  of  my  "j9f/i«ano."  Shepherd's  warm  room  and  betl, 
with  plenty  of  covering,  was  a  princely  luxury  in  that  cold  climate. 
These  things  are  comparative,  and  I  had  not  slept  under  a  roof  but  twice 
since  I  left  Lima.  An  old  Englishman  from  the  Isle  of  Guernsey, 
named  Grant,  who  seemed  to  be  a  sort  of  factotum,  and  knew  and  did 
ever}'thing,  and  who  was  unwearied  in  his  kindness  and  attention  to  us, 
made  up  the  sum  of  our  plea'^ant  acquaintances  at  Morococha.  We 
Lad  beef  and  mutton  for  diimer,  with  good  butter  and  cheese  ;  vegeta- 
bles scarce ;  Gibbon  not  well ;  Richards  very  sick,  and  under  treatment 
from  Shepherd. 

June  3. — We  all  went  to  see  the  Mountain  of  Puy-ptiy,  said  to  be 
higher  than  Chimborazo.  The  place  of  view  is  about  three  miles  from 
Morococha.  We  passed  the  openings  of  a  copper  and  silver  mine,  and 
rede  along  a  boggy  country,  where  turt*  is  cut  for  fuel,  ^^'e  saw  many 
snipes,  ducks,  and  other  aquatic  birds.  This  upset  all  my  preconceived 
notions  ;  I  had  no  idea  that  I  should  see,  at  fifteen  tliousand  feet  alnjve 
tlie  level  of  the  sta,  anything  that  wc>uld  remind  me  of  duck-shooting 
in  the  marshes  of  the  llappahannoi-k.  To  see  the  mountain,  it  was 
necessary  to  cross  a  range  of  hills,  about  seven  or  eight  hundred  feet  in 
height.  Tlie  road  went  up  diagonally,  but  the  ascent  was  the  most 
toilsome  o]>eration  1  had  ever  undertaken.  We  were  obliged  to  dis- 
mount, when  about  three-fourths  of  the  way  up,  and  lead  the  mules; 
the  path  was  muddy  and  slippery,  and  we  had  to  stop  to  blow  at  ever}- 


MOUNTAIX    OF    PUY-PUY.  63 

half-dozen  steps.  Gibbon  declared  that  this  was  the  only  occasion  in 
which  he  had  ever  found  the  big  spurs  of  the  country  of  any  service ; 
for  when  he  shpped  and  fell,  as  we  all  frequently  did,  he  said  that  he 
should  inevitably  have  gone  to  the  bottom  had  he  not  dug  his  spurs 
into  the  soil,  and  so  held  on.  I  think  that  I  suflered  more  than  any  of 
the  party.  On  arriving  at  the  top,  I  was  fairly  exhausted ;  I  thought 
my  heart  would  break  from  my  breast  with  its  violent  agitation,  and  I 
felt,  for  the  first  time,  how  painful  it  was 

^  "  To  breathe 

The  difficult  air  of  the  iced  mountain's  top." 

I  soon  recovered,  however,  and  was  amply  repaid  by  the  splendor  of 
the  view.  The  lofty  cone-shaped  mountain,  clad  in  its  briUiant  mantle 
from  the  top  even  to  the  cylindrical  base  upon  which  it  rested,  rose  in 
solitary  majesty  from  the  plain  beneath  us ;  and  when  the  sunlight, 
bursting  from  the  clouds,  rested  upon  its  summit,  it  was  beautiful, 
indeed.  .  Gibbon  almost  froze  taking  a  sketch  of  it ;  and  the  rest  of  us 
tired  ourselves  nearly  to  death  endeavoring  to  get  a  shot  at  a  herd 
of  shy  vicunas  that  were  seen  feeding  among  the  distant  rocks.  We 
had  a  fatiguing  ride,  and  enjoyed  a  late  dinner  and  a  good  night's  rest. 

June  4. — We  took  leave  of  our  hospitable  friends,  (whom  I  could  no 
longer  intrude  our  large  party  upon,)  and  started  at  meridian,  leaving 
Richards  too  sick  to  travel.  We  rode  down  the  "  Valley  of  the  Lakes" 
in  about  an  E.  N.  E.  direction,  visiting  the  silver  mining  hacienda  of 
Tuctu  as  we  passed,  which  belongs  to  the  establishment  of  Morococha. 
We  travelled  over  a  heavy  rolling  country ;  the  southern  sides  of  the 
hills  clothed  with  verdure,  and  afibrding  tolerable  pasture;  the  nortiiem 
sides  bare  and  rocky — no  trees  or  bushes.  About  nine  miles  from 
Morococha,  we  crossed  a  range  of  hills  to  the  right,  and  entered  the 
village  of  Pachachaca. 

This  is  situated  in  a  valley  that  comes  down  from  Yauli.  The 
stream  of  the  Valley  of  the  Lakes  at  this  place  joins  with  the  larger  and 
very  serpentine  stream  of  the  YaiUi  valley.  This  valley  has  a  flat  and 
apparently  level  floor  of  half  a  mile  in  width,  aflfording  a  carriage-road 
of  two  or  three  miles  in  length.  There  is  a  hacienda  for  smelting  silver 
here ;  but  having  no  letters,  and  but  little  time,  (for  the  arriero  begins 
very  justly  to  complain  that  we  are  delaying  him  an  unreasonable  time 
upon  the  road,)  I  did  not  visit  it. 

Pachachaca  is  a  small  village  of  two  hundi-ed  inhabitants.  The 
people  seem  more  industrious  than  those  of  the  villages  on  the  other 
side.  There  are  fine  crops  of  barley  here,  and  we  saw  cabbages,  onions, 
peaches,  and  eggs,  in  the  shops.     We  were  greater  objects  of  curiosity 


64  LAVA    STREAM. 

in  this  place  than  we  had  been  before.  The  people,  T  believe,  took 
us  for  peddlers,  and  the  woman  from  whom  we  got  our  supper  and 
breakfast  seemed  oftended  because  wo  would  not  sell  her  some  candles, 
and  importuned  Gibbon  for  the  sale  of  his  straw  hat  The  men  wore 
short  woollen  trousers,  buttoned  at  the  knee,  together  with,  generally, 
two  pair  of  long  woollen  stockings.  The  woollen  articles  of  clothing 
are  woven  in  this  neighborhood,  except  the  ponchos,  which  come  from 
Tarma.  Printed  cottons  from  Lima  sell  for  eighteen  and  three-quartet 
cents  the  vara,  (33  inches;)  a  cup  and  saucer  of  the  commonest  ware 
are  held  at  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents,  but  purchasers  are  few ;  sewing- 
cotton,  a  dollar  the  pound.  Shoes  come  from  Jauxa ;  also  candles  and 
potatoes.  Fuel  is  the  "  taquia,"  or  dried  cattle  manure.  Gibbon  and 
I  had  occasion  afterwards  to  laugh  at  our  fsistidiousness  in  objecting 
to  a  mutton-chop  broiled  upon  a  coal  of  cow-dung. 

June  5. — We  travelled  down  the  valley  about  east.  At  about  one 
and  a  half  mile  we  passed  a  very  curious-looking  place,  where  a  small 
stream  came  out  of  a  valley  to  the  northward  and  westward,  and  spread 
itself  over  a  flat  table-rock,  soft  and  calcareous.  It  poured  over  this 
rock  in  a  sort  of  horse-shoe  cataract,  and  then  spread  over  an  ap]>a- 
rently  convex  surface  of  this  same  soft  rock,  about  two  hundred  and 
fifty  yards  wide,  crossing  the  valley  down  which  we  were  travelling. 
This  rock  sounded  hollow  under  the  feet  of  the  mules,  and  I  feared  we 
should  break  tlirough  at  every  instant.  I  am  confident  it  wjis  but  a 
thin  crust ;  and,  indeed,  after  crossing  it,  we  observed  a  clear  stream  of 
water  issuing  from  beneath  it,  and  flowing  into  the  road  on  the  farther 
side.  We  saw  another  such  place  a  little  lower  down,  only  the  stream 
tumbled,  in  a  variety  of  colored  streaks,  principally  white,  like  salt, 
over  the  metallic-looking  rock,  into  the  rivulet  below.  I  presume  there 
must  have  been  some  volcano  near  here,  and  that  this  rock  is  lava, 
fur  it  had  all  the  appearance  of  having  once  been  liquid. 

The  valley  about  two  miles  from  Tachachaca  is  cut  across  by  rocky 
hills.  Here  wo  turned  to  the  northward  and  eastward.  The  country  at 
first  oflered  some  pa-sturage,  but  became  more  barren  as  we  advanced, 
only  showing,  now  and  then,  some  patches  of  barley.  We  travelled  till 
noon  on  tlie  left  bank  of  the  Yauli  stream,  when  wo  crossed  it  by  a 
natural  bridge,  at  a  little  village  of  a  few  huts,  called  Saco.  At  half- 
pm<t  two,  after  a  rido  over  a  stony  and  dusty  jdain,  bordere<l  on  each 
side  by  rocky  mountains,  we  arrived  at  Uie  bridge  of  Oroya.  This  is  a 
chain  suspension  bridge,  of  about  fifty  yards  in  length,  and  two  and  a 
half  in  breadth,  flung  over  the  river  of  Jauxa,  which  is  a  tributary  of 
the  Ucayali.     The  Yauli  stream,  into  which  emptied  the  stream  from 


.€ 


ti^. 


CHAIN    BRIDGE.  65 

the  lakes  at  Morococlia,  joins  this  river  here,  and  this  is  the  connexion 
that  I  spoke  of  between  those  lakes,  near  the  very  summit  of  the  Andes 
and  the  Atlantic  ocean. 

The  bridge  consisted  of  four  chains,  of  about  a  quarter  of  an  inch 
diameter,  stretched  horizontally  across  the  river  from  strong  stone-work 
on  each  side.  These  are  interlaced  with  thong-s  of  hide ;  sticks  of 
about  one  and  a  half  inch  in  diameter  are  laid  across  them  and 
lashed  down,  forming  a  floor.  Two  other  chains  are  stretched  across 
about  four  feet  above  these,  and  connected  with  them  by  thongs  of 
hide ;  tbese  serve  for  balustrades,  and  would  prevent  a  mule  from 
jumping  off.  The  bridge  was  about  fifty  feet  above  the  water  when  we 
passed.  It  seemed  very  light,  and  rocked  and  swayed  under  tbe  motion  of 
the  mules  in  crossing  it.  The  heavy  cargoes  are  taken  off  and  carried 
over  on  the  shoulders  of  the  bridge-keeper  and  his  assistants.  The  toll 
is  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  mule  ;  and  the  same,  the  cargo.  The 
bridge- ward  seemed  astonished,  and  somewhat  annoyed,  when  Itold  him 
that  one  of  the  cargoes,  which  he  left  on  the  mule,  was  the  heaviest  I 
had,  being  a  box  filled  with  bags  of  shot,  balls,  and  powder,  together 
with  the  specimens  of  ore  and  rocks  we  had  collected. 

The  river  at  this  place  turns  from  its  southern  course  and  runs  to  the 
eastward,  by  the  village  of  Oroya,  where  we  camped.  This  village  con- 
tains about  one  hundred  inhabitants,  though  we  saw  only  five  or  six 
men ;  most  of  the  male  inhabitants  being  away  to  the  harvest  on  the 
plains  above.  The  women  seemed  nearly  all  to  be  employed  in  spin- 
ning wool ;  holding  the  bundle  of  wool  in  the  left  hand  and  spinning  it 
out  by  a  hanging  broach.  Very  few  of  them  spoke  Spanish,  but  a  cur- 
rupt  Quichua;,  or  language  of  the  Incas.  We  bought  barley  straw  for 
the  mules,  and  got  a  beef  chupe,  with  eggs  and  roasted  j)otatoes,  for 
ourselves.  We  saw  some  small  trees  within  the  deserted  enclosures 
where  houses  had  been,  bearing  a  very  fragrant  flower,  something  re- 
sembling the  heliotrope,  but  much  larger,  and  tinged  with  a  reddish 
color.     We  also  saw  flocks  of  sheep,  but  got  no  mutton  for  dinner. 

June  6. — Got  under  way  at  0  a.  m.,  steering  N.  N.  E.,  and  making 
a  considerable  ascent  for  about  two  miles.  We  then  rode  over  a  plain, 
with  rolling  hills  on  each  side,  covered  with  a  short  grass,  giving 
pasturage  to  large  flocks  of  sheep  and  some  cows.  The  road  then  rose 
again,  taking  our  column  of  mercury  in  the  barometer  out  of  sight,  till 
half-past  eleven,  when  we  stood  at  the  head  of  a  ravine  leading  down  to 
the  valley  of  Tarma.  The  height  of  this  spot  above  the  level  of  the 
sea  was  eleven  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet.  We  rode  down 
this  ravine,  north,  for  three-quarters  of  an  hour,  and  at  an  angle  to  the 
5 


66  DESCENT    TO    TARMA. 

horizon  of  full  thirty  degrees.  The  road  was  filled  with  fragments  Ht 
white  calcareous  rock,  and  the  rocky  hills  on  each  side  were  j)it'rced 
with  many  a  cavern.  "When  nearly  at  the  foot,  the  plants  ard  flowers 
familiar  to  us  on  the  other  side  began  to  make  their  appearance,  and  in 
such  quick  succession,  that  it  seemed  that  an  hour's  ride  carried  us 
over  many  a  mile  of  the  tedious  ascent  to  the  westward  of  the  moun- 
tains. First  appeared  the  hardy  little  flowers  of  the  heights  above  San 
Mateo  ;  then,  the  barley;  the  alfalfa;  the  Indian  corn;  beans;  turnips; 
shrubs,  becoming  bushes;  bushes,  trees;  flowers  growing  larger  and 
gayer  in  their  colors,  (yellow  predominating,)  till  the  pretty  little  city 
of  Tarma,  embosomed  among  the  hills,  and  enveloped  in  its  covering  of 
willows  and  fruit  trees,  with  its  long  lawns  of  alfalfa  (the  greenest  of 
gi-asses)  stretching  out  in  front,  broke  ujjon  our  view.  The  ride  of  to- 
day was  a  long  and  tiresome  one,  being  mostly  a  bone-shaking  descent ; 
and  we  hailed  with  pleasure  the  sight  of  the  little  town  as  a  resting 
place,  after  the  tedious  passage  of  the  Cordillera,  and  felt  that  one  of 
the  inconveniences  and  perils  of  the  expedition  was  safely  and  happily 
passed. 

We  arrived  at  4  p.  m.,  and  rode  straight  to  the  hwiseof  a  ge?itleman, 
Don  Lorenzo  Burgos,  to  whom  I  brought  a  letter  of  introduction  from 
friend  Shepherd,  of  Morococha ;  which  letter  contained  the  modest  re- 
quest that  Don  Lorenzo  should  place  his  house  at  my  disposal.  This 
he  acceded  to  without  hesitation,  removing  his  sick  wife,  in  sj)ite  of  re- 
monstrance, into  another  room,  and  giving  us  his  hall  for  our  baggage, 
and  his  chamber  for  our  sleeping  room.  Tliis  I  would  not  have  acceded 
to,  except  that  this  is  not  L>on  Lorenzo's  place  of  residence,  but  a  new 
house  which  he  is  constructing  hero,  and  which  he  is  only  staying  at 
for  a  few  days  till  his  wife  is  able  to  travel  to  their  regular  place  of 
residence.  There  is  no  public  house  in  the  town,  and  it  is  customary 
to  take  travellers  in.  AVhen  I  (next  morning)  presented  a  letter  of 
introduction  from  the  IJishop  of  Kretria  to  the  Cura  of  Tarma,  his  first 
question  was,  "  Where  are  you  lodged  ?*'  And  when  I  told  him,  ho 
seemed  annoyed,  and  said  that  I  had  not  treated  him  properly  in  not 
coming  to  his  house.  Don  Lorenzo  gave  us  some  <linnor,  and  wo  slept 
well  after  the  fatigues  of  the  day. 

Tarma,  a  town  of  some  seven  thousand  inhaliitants,  luiongiiig  to  the 
province  of  Pascn  and  department  of  Jnnln,  is  beautifully  situated  in 
an  amphitheatre  of  mountains,  which  are  clothed  nearly  to  the  top 
■with  waving  fields  of  barley.  The  valley  in  front,  about  half  a  mile 
wide,  and  two  miles  long,  appears  lev«'l,  and  is  covered  with  the 
greenest  and  richest  pasturage.     Its  borders  arc  fringed  with  fruit  trees; 


TARMA.  67 

and  tlie  stream  wLich  waters  it  plunges,  in  a  beautiful  little  cataract,  of 
some  thirty  feet  in  height,  over  a  ledge  of  rocks  at  the  farther  end. 
Its  climate  is  delicious ;  and  it  is  the  resort  of  sickly  people  from  Lima, 
and  the  cold  and  inclement  mining  districts,  who  find  comfort  and  resto- 
ration in  its  pure  atmosphere  and  mild  and  equable  temperature.  I  was 
told,  although  the  district  contains  nearly  twenty  thousand  inhabitants, 
and  its  villages  are  close  together,  and  easily  accessible,  that  it  could  not, 
of  itself,  support  a  physician,  and  that  the  government  had  to  appro- 
priate the  tax  on  spirits,  and  the  surplus  revenue  of  the  bridge  at  Oroya, 
to  this  purpose.  A  young  American  physician,  recently  established  in 
Tarma,  gave  me  this  account;  but  said  that  not  even  this  had  been. suf- 
ficient to  keep  one  here;  that  the  custom  had,  therefore,  fallen  into 
desuetude,  and  that  he  was  then  engaged,  with  hope  of  success,  in 
endeavoring  to  have  this  appropriation  renewed  and  paid  over  to  him. 

I  cannot  vouch  for  this  story.  It  has  an  apocryphal  sound  to  me.  I 
only  know  that  it  is  a  very  healthy  place,  and  that  my  medical  fi'i^nd 
is  a  person  of  repute  there.  When  I  proposed  to  carry  Iiim  oft'  with 
me,  the  ladies  of  my  acquaintance  raised  a  great  outcry,  and  declared 
that  they  could  not  part  with  their  Medico.  I  think  there  is  no  apoth- 
ecary's shop  in  Tarma,  for  I  supplied  the  Doctor  with  some  medicines, 
those  which  he  had  brought  from  Lima  being  nearly  exhausted.  I  am 
satisfied,  though  there  are  so  few  diseases,  that  a  good-looking  youno- 
graduate  of  medicine,  who  would  go  there  with  money  enough  to  buy 
him  a  horse,  might  readily  marry  a  pretty  girl  of  influential  family, 
and  soon  get  a  practice  that  would  enrich  him  in  ten  years.  I  after- 
wards new  a  young  American  at  Cerro  Pasco,  who,  though  not  a 
graduate,  and  I  believe  scarcely  a  student  of  medicine,  was  in  high 
repute  as  a  doctor,  and  had  as  much  practice  as  he  could  attend  to; 
but  who,  like  several  of  our  countrymen  whom  I  met  abroad,  was 
dissipated  and  reckless,  and,  as  he  himself  expressed  it,  "  slept  with  the 
pump." 

The  houses  of  Tarma  are  built  of  adobe;  and  the  better  sort  are 
whitewashed  within  and  without ;  floored  with  gypsum  and  tiled.  The 
wood  and  iron  work  is  of  the  rudest  possible  description,  although  the 
former,  from  the  Montaiia  of  Chanchamayo,  is  pretty  and  good.  The 
doors  of  the  house  we  are  living  in  very  much  resemble  "birds-eye 
maple."  Some  of  the  houses  are  partially  papered,  and  carpeted  with 
common  Scotch  carpeting.  Most  of  them  have  patios,  or  enclosed 
squares,  within,  and  some  of  them  flat  roofs,  with  a  parapet  around 
them,  where  maize,  peas,  beans,  and  such  things,  are  placed  in  the  sun 
to  dry. 


68  COSTUME. 

Sunday  is  the  great  market-day,  and  the  market-place  is  filled  yrith 
country  people,  who  come  in  to  sell  their  nianufactures  of  ponchos, 
hhinkeLs,  shoes,  hats,  (made  of  the  vicuna  wool,)  Ac,  and  to  h\My  coca^ 
cotton  goods,  and  agua  diente,  as  well  as  to  attend  mass  and  get  drunk. 
It  is  quite  a  busy  and  animated  scene.  The  men  are  generally  dressed 
in  tall  straw  hat<»,  ponchos,  breeches,  buttoned  at  the  knee,  and  long 
woollen  stockings;  the  women,  in  a  blue  woollen  skirt,  tied  around  the 
waist,  and  open  in  front,  to  show  a  white  cotton  petticoat,  the  shoulders 
covered  with  a  mantle  consisting  of  two  or  three  yards  of  gay-colored 
plu!ih,  called  "Bar/eta  de  Castilla,""  or  Spanish  baize.  Everything 
foreign  in  this  country  is  called  "  de  Castilla,''^  (of  Ca.stile ;)  as  in  Brazil, 
it  is  called  "rfa  Bainha,''^  (of  the  Queen.)  The  skirt  of  a  lady  of  higher 
(juality  consists  of  a  colored  print,  or  mousseline.  She  rarely,  unless 
flressed  for  company,  takes  the  trouble  to  put  on  the  body  of  her  dress, 
which  hangs  down  behind,  and  is  covered  with  a  gay  shawl,  passed 
around  the  bust,  with  the  end  thrown  gracefully  over  tlie  left  shoulder. 
Tlie  hair,  particularly  on  Sundays,  is  in  perfect  order;  parted  in  the 
middle,  and  hanging  down  in  two  plaits  behind.  It  is  surmounted  by 
a  very  neat,  low-crowned  straw-hat,  the  crown  being  nearly  covered  with 
a  broad  ribbon ;  and  she  is  always  "  bien  calzada^^  (well  shod.)  The 
women  are  generally  large  and  well  developed ;  not  very  pretty,  but 
with  amiable,  frank,  and  agreeable  manners;  they  have,  almost  in- 
variably, a  pleasant  smile,  with  an  open  and  engaging  expression  of 
countenance. 

Religion  flourishes  in  Tarma ;  and  the  Cura  seems  to  have  a  busy 
time  of  it;  though  it  is  said  he  is  cheated  of  half  his  rights  in  the  way 
of  marriage  fees.  I  think  that  no  day  pa-vsed  while  we  were  here  that 
there  was  not  a  ^fiesta''  of  the  church;  for,  allliough  tliere  are  not 
more  than  twenty-five  or  thirty  feast  days  in  the  year  insisted  upon  by 
the  church  and  the  government,  yet  any  piously-dispositl  person  may  get 
up  one  when  he  please''.  The  manner  seems  to  l>e  this  :  A  person,  either 
from  religious  motives  or  ostentation,  during  or  after  Divine  service  in 
the  church,  approaches  the  altar,  and,  kis'«ing  one  of  its  appendages, 
(I  forget  which,)  proclaims  his  intention  of  bcc(»ming  niayordonio  or 
suiwrintendent  of  such  and  such  a  fiesta — generally  that  of  the  Saint 
after  wliom  he  is  named,  and  thereupon  receives  the  Wnediction  of  the 
priest.  This  bimls  him  and  his  heirs  to  all  the  expenses  of  the  celebra- 
tion, which,  in  the  great  functions  in  Lima,  may  be  set  down  at  no 
small  matter — the  heaviest  item  being  the  lighting  of  one  of  those 
large  churches  from  floor  to  dome  with  wax.  The  jewels  and  other 
adornments  of  the  images  borne  in  procession  are  generally  borrowed 


FIESTAS  OF  THE  CHURCH.  69 

from  the  devout  Seiioras  of  the  higher  and  richer  class ;  but  I  am  told 
that  many  a  person  impoverishes  his  family  for  years  by  paying  the 
expenses  of  one  of  these  festivals. 

The  fiestas  in  Tarma  are  genei-ally  celebrated  with  music,  ringing  of 
bells,  firing  of  rockets,  and  dances  of  Indians.  A  dozen  vagabonds  are 
dressed  in  what  is  supposed  to  be  the  costume  of  the  ancient  Indians. 
This  consists  of  a  red  blanket  hanging  from  one  shoulder,  and  a  white 
one  from  the  other,  reaching  nearly  to  the  knee,  and  girded  around  the 
waist ;  the  usual  short  blue  breeches,  with  a  white  fringe  at  the  knee ; 
stockings  of  an  indiiferent  color,  and  shoes  or  sandals  of  raw-hide, 
gathered  over  the  toes  with  a  draw-string,  and  tied  around  the  ankles. 
The  head-dress  is  a  low  crowned,  broad-brimmed  round  hat,  made  of 
wool,  and  surrounded  with  a  circlet  of  dyed  feathers  of  the  ostrich. 
Thus  costumed,  the  party  march  through  the  streets,  and  stop  evei-v 
now  and  then  to  execute  a  sort  of  dance  to  the  melancholy  and  monot- 
onous music  of  a  reed  pipe,  accompanied  by  a  rude  flat  drum — both  in 
the  hands  of  the  same  performer.  Each  man  has  a  stick  or  club,  of 
hard  wood,  and  a  very  small  wooden  or  hide  shield,  which  he  strikes 
with  the  ciub  at  certain  periods  of  the  dance,  making  a  low  clattering 
in  time  with  the  music.  They  have  also  small  bells,  called  "cascabeles," 
attached  to  the  knees  and  feet,  which  jingle  in  the  dance.  They  and 
their  company  of  Indians  and  Mestizos  smell  very  badly  on  a  near 
approach.  Connected  with  this  there  is  a  great  deal  of  riot  and  drunk- 
enness; and  I  felt  annoyed  that  the  church  should  patronize  and 
encourage  so  demoralizing  a  procedure.  The  secular  clergy  of  Peru, 
with  a  few  honorable  exceptions,  have  not  a  high  character,  if  one  is  to 
believe  the  stories  told  of  them  by  their  own  countrymen ;  and  I  had 
occasion  to  observe  that  the  educated  young  men,  as  well  of  Chili  as 
of  Peru,  generally  spoke  of  them  in  terms  of  great  contempt.  I  judge 
that  the  case  is  different  with  the  clergy  of  the  monastic  orders,  particu- 
larly the  missionaries.  Those  I  met  with  were  evidently  men  of  high 
character;  and  to  their  zeal,  energy,  and  ability,  Peru  owes  the  con- 
quest of  by  far  the  largest  and  richest  part  of  the  republic.  It  happens, 
unfortunately  for  the  Peruvian  character,  that  nearly  all  of  these  are 
foreigners — generally  Spaniards  and  Italians. 

June  v. — I  suffered  all  day  with  violent  pain  in  the  head  and  limbs, 
from  the  ride  of  yesterday.  These  Peruvian  saddles,  though  good  for 
the  beasts,  and  for  riding  up  and  down  hill,  stretch  the  legs  so  far  apart 
as  for  a  long  time  to  give  the  unaccustomed  rider  severe  pains  in  the 
muscles  of  the  thighs ;  and  I  had  to  ride  a  large  portion  of  the  distance 
with  my  leg  over  the  pommel,  like  a  lady. 


70  THE  MARKET, 

We  paid  off  and  parted  witli  the  arriero,  Pablo  Luis  Arredondo.  I 
did  not  find  him  so  ^at  a  rascal  as  I  expected ;  for,  except  the  disposi- 
tion to  get  all  out  of  me  he  could,  (which  was  very  natural,)  and  an 
occasional  growl,  (which  was  also  to  be  expected.)  I  had  no  reason  to 
be  dissatisfied  with  Luis.  Ijurra  was  always  quarrelling  with  him  ;  but 
I  think  Ijurra  has  the  fault  of  his  countrymen  generally,  and  wants  the 
temper  and  patience  necessary  to  manage  igiiorant  people.  By  soft 
words  and  some  bribery,  I  got  along  well  enough  with  the  old  fellow ; 
and  he  loaded  his  mules  beyond  their  usual  carg(X's,  and  drove  thera 
along  very  well.  I  was  frequently  astonished  at  the  difficulties  they 
sunuounted,  loaded  as  they  were.  The  usual  load  is  two  hundred  and 
sixty  pounds;  and  these  animals  of  ours,  with,  I  am  sure,  in  some 
instances,  a  heavier  load,  and  of  a  most  incongruous  and  heterogeneous 
description,  ascended  hills  and  descended  valleys  which  one  would 
scarcely  think  an  unloaded  mule  could  travel  over.  Our  riding  mules 
wore  perfect  treasures.  Sure-footed,  steady,  strong,  and  patient,  they 
bore  us  along  easily  and  with  comfort ;  and  Gibbon  saj-s  that  he  will 
part  with  his  with  tears,  when  we  are  compelled  to  give  them  up  and 
take  to  the  boats. 

The  market  at  Tarma  is  tolerably  good,  though  the  meat  is  badly 
butchered.  Beef  costs  six  cents  a  pound ;  a  small  leg  of  mutton,  eigh- 
teen and  three-quarter  cents ;  good  potatoes,  nearly  a  doll.ir  a  bushel ; 
cauliflowers,  three  small  heads  for  twelve  and  a  half  cents;  oranges,  pine- 
apples, and  peaches  are  abundant  and  cheap,  but  not  good ;  bread,  very 
good,  is  baked  in  small  loaves,  by  a  Frenchman,  four  for  twelve  and  a 
half  cents;  flour  comes  from  Jauxa;  eggs  are  ten  cents  a  dozen. 

Wo  had  a  visit  from  tJie  Cura,  and  went  to  see  the  sub  prefect  of  the 
province,  a  gentleman  named  Mier,  who  promised  me  such  {issistanco 
as  I  needed  in  my  visit  to  Chanchamayo.  Both  of  these  gentlemen 
earnestly  deprecated  the  idea  of  trusting  myself  and  party  among  the 
^Chvurhos^^  Indians  on  the  other  side  of  the  river  Chanchamayo,  say- 
ing that  they  were  very  hostile  to  the  whites,  and  dangerous.  The  Cura 
promised  to  look  out  for  a  servant  for  us.  We  had  visits,  also,  from 
several  gentlem<'n  of  the  town;  among  tliem  a  Senor  Cardenas,  who 
gave  me  a  copy  of  the  memorial  of  Urrutia.  All  seemed  much  inter- 
ested in  my  exi>edition  to  Chanchamayo,  and  lioped  a  favorable  report. 

June  11. — We  rode  alK>ut  a  league  down  the  valley  which  leads 
to  Chanchamayo,  to  the  farm  of  deneral  Otero,  to  whom  we  brought 
letters  from  Mr.  Prevost,  and  Pas(juel,  bishop  of  Eretrea.  We  found 
this  farm  a  different  sort  of  afl^air  from  anything  we  had  hitherto  seen 
in  this  way  in  our  travels.     This  is  in  a  higli  state  of  cultivation,  welJ 


FARMING    IN    THE    SIERRA.  71 

enclosed  with  mud  walls,  and  in  beautiful  order.  The  General — a  good 
looking,  farmer-like  old  gentleman — met  us  with  great  cordiality,  and 
showed  us  over  the  premises.  He  has  a  very  large  house,  with  all  the 
necessary  offices  attached,  which  he  built  himself.  Indeed,  he  said  he 
had  made  the  farm ;  for  when  he  purchased  it,  it  was  a  stony  and 
desolate  place,  and  he  had  expended  much  time,  labor,  and  money  on 
it.  There  were  two  gardens :  one  for  vegetables  and  fruit,  and  one  for 
flowers.  They  were  both  in  fine  order.  The  fruits  were  peaches  of 
various  kinds,  apples,  strawberries,  almonds,  and  some  few  grapes.  The 
flowers  were  principally  roses,  pinks,  pansies,  jessamines,  and  geraniums. 
There  were  a  few  exotics,  under  bell-glasses.  Both  fruit  and  flowers 
were  of  rather  indifferent  quality,  but  much  better  than  one  would 
expect  to  see  in  so  elevated  and  cold  a  situation.  The  nights  here, 
particularly  in  the  early  morning,  are  quite  cold. 

This  is  the  harvest  season,  and  the  General  was  gathering  his  crop  of 
maize.  About  twenty  peons  or  laborers  were  bringing  it  in  from  the 
fields,  and  throwing  it  down  in  piles  in  a  large  court-yard,  while  boys 
and  women  were  engaged  in  "  shucking "  it.  In  one  corner  of  the 
square,  under  a  snug  little  shed  attached  to  one  of  the  barns,  with  stone 
seats  around  it,  sat  the  General's  three  daughters,  sewing,  and  probably 
superintending  the  "  shucking."  They  were  fair,  sweet-looking  girls. 
The  General  had  a  tray  of  glasses,  with  some  Italia  (a  cordial  made  of 
a  Muscatel  grape  that  growls  in  the  province  of  lea,  and  hence  called 
lea  brandy)  and  paper  cigars,  brought  out  for  us ;  and  the  whole 
concern  had  a  home  look  that  was  quite  pleasing. 

I  cannot  give  a  good  idea  of  farming  in  this  country,  for  want  of 
information  of  the  value  of  land ;  this  depending  so  entirely  on  its 
situation  and  condition.  The  mountain  sides  are  so  steep,  and  the 
valleys  so  rocky,  that  I  imagine  there  is  no  great  deal  of  cultivable 
land  in  all  this  district,  and  therefore  it  is  probably  high.  According 
to  Gen.  Otero,  land  here  is  measured  by  "  tongos,"  which  is  a  square 
of  thirty-three  varas.  (A  vara  is  thirty-three  English  inches.)  Three 
tongos  make  a  "yuntada,"  or  as  much  as  it  is  calculated  that  a  yoke  of 
oxen  can  plough  in  a  day.  About  half  an  arroba,  or  twelve  and  a  half 
pounds  of  seed,  is  planted  to  the  tongo.  In  maize,  the  yield  is  between 
forty-five  and  fifty  for  one.  Wheat  yields  about  forty  for  one,  but  is 
so  subject  to  the  rust  as  to  be  an  uncertain  crop,  and  is  therefore  little 
cultivated.  The  price  of  maize  is  five  dollars  the  carga  or  mule-load, 
of  two  hundred  and  sixty  pounds.  From  these  data  it  appears,  then, 
that  an  acre  will  yield  about  forty-three  bushels,  which  is  worth  one 
dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  the  bushel.      Quantities  of  barley  are 


72  THE    HACIENDA. 

cultivated  on  tho  mountain  sides,  but  the  grain  does  not  come  to 
perfei:tion,  and  it  is  generally  cut  green  for  fodder;  though  tho  General 
says  that  it  is  not  good  for  that,  the  straw  being  coarse  and  hard. 
Potatoes  are  a  good  crop ;  tliey  arc  worth  now  in  Tarma  one  dollar  and 
fifty  cents  the  hundred  pounds,  and  in  times  of  scarcity  have  been 
known  to  run  up  as  high  as  seven  dollars.  One  of  the  principal 
articles  of  food  of  the  hiborors  of  this  country  is  "caiicha"  or  toasted 
maize.  Tlu-y  mix  a  little  lime  with  the  grains  before  putting  them  in 
the  hot  ashes,  which  makes  them  whiter  and  improves  their  flavor. 
It  is  really  vcr)'  sweet  and  good,  and  I  liked  it  better  than  the  green 
corn  roasted,  which  is  such  a  favorite  dish  with  us.  Ckicha,  a  fermented 
liquor,  is  also  made  from  Indian  com,  and  much  drunk  by  all  classes. 
The  General  gave  us  some  that  he  had  prepared  and  bottled  himself. 
It  was  veiy  good,  rose-colored,  and  sparkk-d  like  Champagne.  lie  told 
us  that  our  com,  which  he  called  "  mats  morofha"  was  not  so  good  as 
this  for  making  either  cancha  or  chicha ;  this  being  softer  and  sweeter. 

We  visited  the  stables,  which  were  very  clean,  and  paved,  and 
contained  Pome  ten  or  fifteen  fine-looking  young  horses ;  and  there  were 
thirty  or  forty  more,  mares  and  colts,  in  a  spacious  corral  or  enclosure 
near,  with  an  American  farrier  from  Tarma  attending  to  some  of  them. 
There  is  also  a  neat  little  chapel  occupying  a  corner  of  the  "patio," 
with  the  inscription  over  the  door,  '■'■JJornus  mca^  domns  oraliouis  rs/." 
It  was  neatly  papered  and  carpeted,  and  had  colored  prints  of  the 
"  Stations  "  hung  around  the  walls.  The  altar-piece  was  a  figure  of  our 
Lady  of  Mercy,  with  the  figures  of  St.  Francis  and  St.  Peter  on  each 
side ;  these  Saints  being  the  patrons  of  the  general  and  his  lady,  Don 
Francisco  and  Dona  Pedronilla.  The  General's  manners  were  exceed- 
ingly courteous  and  affable ;  and  he  ])osscssed  that  suavity  and  gentle- 
ness of  bearing  that  seems  to  me  always  to  characterize  the  military 
man  of  high  rank  when  in  retirement.  The  whole  establishment  re- 
minded me  of  one  of  our  best  kept  Virginia  farms,  where  the  owner 
had  inherited  tho  homestead  of  his  father,  and  was  in  easy  circum- 
stances. 

June  12. — Dine<J  with  our  countr)-man,  Dr.  Buckingham,  and  a 
couple  of  young  ladies,  one  of  whom  seemed  to  be  his  housekeej>er. 
Tho  dinner  wiis  after  the  I'eruvian  fashion:  first,  a  sort  of  thick  soup  i 
then,  roasted  ribs  of  mutton,  served  with  salad  ;  this  succeeded  by  a  dish 
of  stewed  (tuinea  pigs,  mixed  with  a  variety  of  vegetables,  and  which 
would  have  been  very  good  but  for  the  addition  of  a  quantity  of  <yi,  or 
red  pepper,  which  made  it  un«'ndurable  to  tho  unaccustomed  jtalate ; 
winding  up  with    tho  invariable  chupe,   and  tho  invariable  dessert  of 


TARMA.  73 

dulces,  or  sweetmeats.  A  Limenian  never  tliinks  of  taking  water 
during  dinner,  and  always  eats  sweetmeats  after  dinner,  that  lie  may- 
then  safely  take  water;  so  that  "  To7nar  dulces,  para  beber  agua"  is. a 
sort  of  dietetic  proverb  with  them. 

June  13. — Rode  out  on  the  Oroya  road,  with  the  intention  of  visiting 
a  cave,  or  what  is  reported  to  be  a  subterraneous  passage  made  by  the 
Incas,  and  reaching  as  far  as  Jauxa,  twenty-seven  miles  ;  but,  after  riding 
about  five  miles,  we  determined  that  we  were  too  late  to  explore  the 
cave  for  that  day,  and  meeting  Richards,  from  Morococha,  we  turned 
back.  I  suspect  that  this  cave  is  nothing  more  than  the  canon,  or 
opening,  of  some  long-deserted  mine. 

June  14. — Rode  out  to  the  southward,  in  the  direction  of  Jauxa. 
This  valley,  which  rises  very  rapidly,  is  thickly  settled,  and  well  culti- 
vated. Road  bad.  Another  valley  debouches  from  this,  about  four 
miles  above  Taima,  to  the  southward  and  eastward,  leading  to  the 
Montana  of  Vitoc. 

June  15. — Had  a  long  visit  from  General  Otero.  The  vivacious  old 
gentleman  discoursed  very  pleasantly.  He  said  that  it  was  difficult  to 
get  at  the  population  of  the  town  proper,  the  census  being  generally 
taken  of  the  Doctrina,  or  district  over  which  the  Cura  had  religious  juris- 
diction ;  that  this  was  about  ten  or  twelve  thousand,  of  which  one- 
twelfth  part  were  pure  white,  about  one-half  Mestizos,  (descendants  of 
whites  and  Indians,)  and  the  balance  Indians,  there  being  very  few 
negroes.  I  asked  him  to  account  for  the  number  of  blind  people  we 
had  noticed  in  the  streets.  He  said  that  most  of  the  blind  people  came 
from  Jauxa,  in  which  country  much  wheat  and  barley  are  produced ;  that 
they  sifted  these  grains,  and  got  rid  of  the  chaff  by  throwing  them  up 
in  the  air,  and  he  believed  that  the  blindness  arose  from  the  irritation 
caused  by  the  chaff  and  barbs  flying  into  the  eyes  of  the  people  who 
sifted. 

He  also  said  that  he  thought  I  should  not  attempt  to  cross  the 
Chanchamayo  amongst  the  Indians,  for  that  I  would  not  be  able  to 
defend  myself  against  their  attacks ;  but  thought  that,  if  I  wished  to 
descend  the  Ucayali,  I  had  better  take  a  more  southern  tributary,  called 
the  Pangoa ;  (this  is  Biedma's  route,  by  Andamarca  and  Sonomora ;) 
that  there  the  Indians  were  not  so  much  irritated  against  the  whites, 
and  that  the  river  was  known  to  be  navigable  for  canoes,  for  he  himself 
had  known  a  friar  of  Ocopa  who,  in  1817,  had  descended  it  for  the 
conversion  of  the  Indians  of  the  Ucayali,  and  had  afterwards  estab- 
lished a  missionary  station  at  Andamarca,  where  the  Indians  came  at 
stated  periods  to  be  baptized  and  receive  presents  of  hatchets,  knives, 


74  EXPEDITION    TO    CHANCHAMAYO. 

beads,  &c.,  but  that,  on  the  occasion  of  the  war  in  1824,  tbe  supplies 
Vki  been  stopped,  and  the  Indians  would  come  no  more.  He,  as  did 
the  sub-prefei;t,  liked  my  idea  of  ascending  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali,  with  a  properly-equipped  Indian  force,  and  looking  into  the 
navigability  of  the  Perene  and  Chanchamayo  that  way. 

The  latitude  of  Tarma,  by  mean  of  Mer.  altitudes  of  «  and  0  Ccn- 
tauri,  is  11°  25'  05"  S. 

June  IG. — "We  left  Tarma  for  the  Chanchamayo.  This  is  the  first 
time  I  have  applied  to  authority  for  the  means  of  locomotion.  I  did  it 
inadvertently,  and  was  sorr}'  for  it ;  for,  though  I  would  jirobably  have 
been  cheated  in  jhe  price,  yet  I  should  not  have  been  the  cause  of  in- 
justice and  oppression.  I  had  said  to  the  sub-prefect,  a  few  days  before, 
that  I  wanted  the  means  of  transportation  for  some  baggage  to  Chan- 
chamayo, which  he  promised  to  furnish  me.  Yesterday  I  went  to  ask 
for  it  for  to-day,  and  he  referred  me  to  the  governor  of  the  district,  who 
was  present,  and  who  told  me  that  he  would  have  what  I  required — viz: 
two  asses  and  a  saddle  mule,  with  two  peons — ready  by  to-morrow 
morning.  Accordingly,  this  morning  he  sent  for  me,  and  presented  to 
me  the  owner  of  the  mule,  the  owner  of  the  asses,  and  the  two  peons. 
The  wages  of  these  were  to  bo  four  reals,  or  half  a  dollar,  a  day  ;  and  I 
paid  each  three  dollars  in  advance.  To  the  governor  I  paid  a  dollar  for 
each  ass,  and  two  for  the  mule,  with  the  understanding  that  I  was  to 
pay  as  much  more  on  my  return.  The  peons  were  then  lectured  on 
their  duties,  and  sent  round  to  my  house  with  an  escort  of  half  a  dozen 
al(/uazile.<t,  or  constables,  armed  with  sticks,  to  prevent  tht-ir  escaping  or 
getting  drunk  before  the  start.  The  asses  and  mules  M-ere  also  sent 
round  under  a  similar  guard,  so  that  my  patio  seemed  filled  with  a 
clamorous  multitude,  who  created  such  a  confusion  that  I  jiad  to  turn 
out  all  but  my  own  people.  I  ordered  these  to  load  up;  but  they  said 
tliat  the  owners  of  the  asses  had  sent  no  lassos,  or  thongs,  to  bind  on  the 
burdens;  and  I  soon  discovered  that  there  was  a  general  unwillingness 
for  the  job,  and  that  the  governor  had  pressed  the  animals  into  the 
service  against  the  will  of  the  owners. 

Strong  eflbrts  were  made  to  get  the  mule  away  from  me.  The 
woman  of  the  house,  who,  it  appears,  was  a  sister  of  the  owner,  advised 
me  not  to  take  it ;  and  said  that  it  was  a  bad,  vicious  animal,  that  would 
do  me  a  mischief.  I  was  surprised  at  this,  as  ho  looked  particularly 
docile ;  and  I  directed  my  tiew  servant  (one  recommended  by  the  Cura, 
and  who  looked  twice  as  vicious  as  the  mule)  to  mount  and  riile  him 
around  the  patio.  Tlie  fellow  grinned  maliciously,  and  proved  my  judg- 
ment correct.     Finding  this  would  not  do,  the  owner  (who  had  put  his 


TREATMENT    OF    INDIANS.  75 

sister  up  to  making  this  attempt)  then  came  forward,  and  said  I  must 
pay  him  half  a  dollar  more,  as  the  governor  had  kept  back  that  mucli 
of  the  price.  This  being  "no  go,"  he  tried  to  steal  away  his  mule 
while  our  backs  were  tui'ned ;  but  being  prevented,  he  went  off,  got 
drunk  in  about  fifteen  minutes,  and  came  back  maudlin  ;  embracing, 
kissing,  and  weeping  over  his  mule,  crying  in  piteous  tones  "Jfi  macho, 
mi  macho,^''  (my  mule,  my  mule.)  We  shoved  him  aside  and  rode  oft', 
followed,  I  have  no  doubt,  by  the  curses  of  the  community. 

This  was  all  very  annoying  to  me.  I  afterwards  mentioned  these  cir- 
cumstances to  the  commandant  of  the  fort  at  Chanchamayo,  telling 
him  how  much  I  would  prefer  to  pay  double  price  and  get  voluntary 
service.  He  said  that  my  sympathies  were  all  thrown  away  upon  these 
people,  that  I  must  go  to  the  governors  for  the  means  of  transportation ; 
for  that  the  Indians  would  not  let  me  have  their  beasts  at  any  price  ; 
and  related  instances  of  his  having  to  use  threats,  and  even  force,  to  in- 
duce a  sulky  Indian  to  give  him  and  his  beast  food  and  shelter  when  in 
the  Cordillera,  and  the  approach  of  night  made  it  impossible  to  go  on. 
Several  travellers  in  these  parts  have  also  told  me  that  they  have  been 
compelled  to  shoot  the  poultry  of  an  Indian,  who  with  a  large  stock, 
would  refuse  to  sell  at  any  price ;  but  who,  after  the  thing  was  done, 
would  good  humoredly  accept  a  fair  value. 

Ijurra  also  related  instances  of  oppression  and  tyranny  on  the  part  of 
the  governors,  particularly  in  the  province  of  Mainas,  where  commerce 
is  carried  on  by  transportation  of  the  goods  on  the  backs  of  Indians. 
A  travelling  merchant  goes  to  the  governor  and  says,  "  I  have  such  and 
such  a  cargo  ;  I  want  so  many  Indians  to  transport  it."  The  governor, 
generally  a  white  or  Mestizo,  sends  for  the  Curaca,  (the  lineal  heredi- 
tary governor  of  the  tribe  of  Indians  of  that  district,  who  has  great 
authority,  and  without  whose  assistance  the  whites  probably  could  not 
govern  at  all,)  and  orders  him  'to  have  so  many  Indians  detailed  for  a 
journey.  The  Curaca  drums  them  up,  directing  them  to  toast  their 
corn  and  prepare  their  "^lamire"  (food  for  the  road)  for  a  journey  of  so 
many  leagues  ;  and  they  are  taken  from  their  occupations  and  sent  off, 
for  probably  many  days,  at  a  pay  of  anything  that  the  governor  may 
direct. 

If  a  man  wishes  to  build  a  house  or  open  a  farm,  he  may  be  sup- 
plied with  laborers  for  six  months,  at  a  hire,  per  month,  of  as  many 
yards  of  cotton  cloth  as  will  make  each  a  shirt  and  pair  of  trousers ; 
the  patron  or  master  furnishing  them  with  food  ;  but,  as  may  be 
imagined,  this  is  of  the  coarsest  and  commonest  description  that  will 
support  life. 


76  THE    ROAD. 

It  would  seem  that  men  could  never  improve  under  a  system  of  such 
Absolute  slavery  as  this ;  yet  to  give  them  liberty,  is  to  abandon  them 
and  return  them  to  a  state  of  barbarity,  slmtting  out  all  prosj>ect  of 
improvement ;  and  the  only  hope  seems  to  be  in  the  justice  and  mod- 
eration of  the  rulers — a  slim  hope  liere. 

We  got  otF  at  noon  ;  stopped  at  the  "chacra"  of  Gen.  Otero,  and 
received  a  letter  of  introduction  to  the  commandant  of  the  fort  When 
the  old  gentleman  saw  our  new  servant  '■^ Mariano^^  lie  crossed  himself 
most  devoutly^  and  ejaculated  "  Satatiasf"  lie  then  told  us  that  this 
was  a  notoriously  bad  boy,  whom  nobody  had  been  able  to  manage, 
but  that  we,  being  strangers  and  military  men,  might  get  along  with 
him  by  strictness  and  severity  ;  and  he  gave  the  boy  a  lecture  upon  his 
duties  and  the  faithful  performance  of  them. 

A  mile  and  a  half  beyond  Gen.  Otero's  is  the  town  of  Acobamba. 
I  judge  tliat  it  contains  twelve  or  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants ;  but  it  is 
situated  in  a  thickly-settled  district,  and  the  "  Doctrina"  is  said  to  be 
more  populous  than  that  of  Tarma.  Six  more  miles  brought  us  to 
Palca,  a  straggling  town  of  about  one  thousand  inhabitants.  We 
merely  passed  through,  and  a  mile  further  on  "brought  up"  at  tlie 
chac-ra  of  Don  Justo  Kojas,  to  whom  I  had  a  letter  fn)ni  Lizarralde,  the 
administrator  at  Morococha.  Don  Justo  was  engaged  in  extracting,  by 
boiling,  the  juice  of  the  rhatany  root  for  an  apothecary  of  Lima.  lie 
supplied  us  with  a  capital  supper  of  chicken  soup  and  boiled  eggs,  with 
alfalfa  for  the  beasts.  He  also  sold  us,  from  his  establishment  in  town, 
sugar  and  bread.  We  pitched  the  tent  in  an  old  corn-field,  and  slept 
delightfully.  Tent-pegs  for  this  country  should  be  of  iron.  Although 
those  we  used  were  made  of  the  hardest  wood  that  could  be  found  in 
Lima,  we  had  used  them  all  up  by  this  time,  beating  ofi'  their  heads 
by  driving  them  with  a  hatchet  into  the  hard  and  stony  ground. 

Don  Jiisto's  is  the  la-st  chacra  in  the  valley,  which  now  narrows,  and 
allows  no  room  for  cultivation.  Though  going  down  hill  by  the  barom- 
eter, we  were  evidently  crossing  a  chain  of  mountains,  which  the  stream 
at  the  bottom  of  tlie  valley  ha.s  saved  us  the  trouble  of  ascending  and 
descending,  by  cleaving  a  way  through  for  itself,  and  leaving  the  moun- 
tains on  either  hand  towering  thousands  of  feet  above  our  heads.  Ilie 
ride  wa«  the  wililest  we  liavo  yet  had  ;  the  road  sometimes  finding 
room  along  the  borders  of  the  river,  ami  then  a.scending  nearly  to  the 
top  of  the  hills,  and  diminishing  the  foaming  and  thundering  stream 
to  a  noiseless,  silver  thread.  The  aswnt.s  and  descents  were  nearly  pre- 
cipitous ;  and  the  scene  was  rugged,  wild,  and  grand  beyond  dei>crip- 
tion. 


DANGERS    OF    TRAVEL.  77 

We  saw  some  miserable  huts  on  the  road,  and  met  a  few  asses 
carrying  reeds  and  poles  from  Chanchamayo.  It  seemed  a  providence 
that  we  did  not  meet  these  at  certain  parts  of  the  road,  where  it  is 
utterly  impossible  for  two  beasts  to  pass  abreast,  or  for  one  to  turn  and 
retreat ;  and  the  only  remedy  is  to  tumble  one  off  the  precipice,  or  to 
drag  him  back  by  the  tail  until  he  reaches  a  place  where  the  other  can 
pass.  Von  Tschudi  relates  an  instance  of  his  shooting  a  mule  which 
met  him  at  one  of  these  places. 

We  met  with  a  considerable  fright  in  this  way  to-day.  We  were 
riding  in  single  file  along  one  of  these  narrow  ascents,  where  the  road  is 
cut  out  of  the  mountain  side,  and  the  traveller  has  a  perpendicular  wall 
on  one  hand,  and  a  sheer  precipice  of  many  hundreds  of  feet  upon  the 
other.  Mr.  Gibbon  was  riding  ahead.  Just  as  he  was  about  to  turn 
a  sharp  bend  of  the  road  the  head  of  a  bull  peered  round  it,  on  the 
descent.  When  the  bull  came  in  full  view  he  stopped,  and  we  could 
see  the  heads  of  other  cattle  clustering  over  his  quarters,  and  hear  the 
shouts  of  the  cattle-drivers,  far  behind,  urging  on  their  herd.  I 
happened  to  be  abreast  of  a  slight  natural  excavation,  or  hollow,  in 
the  mountain  side,  and  dismounting  I  put  my  shoulder  against  my 
mule's  flank  and  pressed  her  into  this  friendly  retreat ;  but  I  saw  no 
escape  for  Gibbon,  who  had  passed  it.  The  bull,  with  •  lowered  crest, 
and  savage,  sullen  look,  came  slowly  on,  and  actually  got  his  head 
between  the  perpendicular  rock  and  the  neck  of  Gibbon's  mule.  I  felt 
a  thrill  of  agony,  for  I  thought  my  companion's  fate  was  sealed.  But 
the  sagacious  beast  on  which  he  was  mounted,  pressing  her  haunches 
hard  against  the  wall,  gathered  her  feet  close  under  her  and  turned  as 
upon  a  pivot.  This  placed  the  bull  on  the  outside,  (there  was  room  to 
pass,  though  I  did  not  believe  it,)  and  he  rushed  by  at  the  gallop, 
followed  in  single  file  by  the  rest  of  the  herd.  I  cannot  describe  the 
relief  I  expeiienced.  Gibbon,  who  is  as  gallant  and  fearless  as  man 
can  be,  said  "  It  is  of  no  use  to  attempt  to  disguise  the  fact — I  was 
badly  scared." 

At  2  p.  m.,  we  arrived  at  a  place  called  Matichacra,  where  there  was 
a  single  hut,  inhabited  by  a  woman  and  her  child ;  the  husband  having 
gone  to  Cerro  Pasco  to  exhibit  some  specimens  of  gold  ore  which  he 
had  found  here.  The  woman  was  afflicted  with  an  eruption  on  her 
face,  which  she  thought  was  caused  by  the  metallic  character  of  the 
earth  around,  particularly  the  antimonial.  She  took  a  knife,  and, 
digging  earth  from  the  floor  of  her  hut,  washed  it  in  a  gourd,  and 
showed  us  particles  of  metal  like  gold  sticking  to  the  bottom.  I 
showed  some  of  this  earth  to  General  Otero,  who  pronounced  that 


78  MATICHACRA. 

there  was  no  gold  in  it ;  but  Lieutenant  Maury,  who  examined  some 
that  I  brought  home  with  a  powerful  magnifier,  h:is  declared  that  there 
was.  The  mountains  have  an  exceedingly  metallic  appearance,  and 
the  woman  said  that  there  were  still  in  the  neighborhood  traces  of  the 
mining  operations  of  the  Spaniards. 

About  a  mile  and  a  half  above  Matichacra  commenced  the  steep 
regular  descent  of  the  mountain  range,  and  from  just  above  it  we 
could  discern  where  the  valley  debouched  upon  an  apparent  plain, 
though  bounded  and  intersected  by  distant  mountains,  bearing  and 
ranging  in  different  directions.  This  place  we  judged  to  be  the 
"Montana."  Wo  stopped  an  hour  at  Matichacra,  (Gourd  Farm, 
from  half  a  dozen  gourd  vines  growing  near  the  house,)  and  made  a 
chupe  with  a  leg  of  mutton  we  had  bought  the  night  before  at  Palea. 
We  saw  a  few  patches  of  Indian  corn  on  the  side  of  the  mountain 
opposite,  and  the  tops  of  the  mountains  are  clad  with  small  trees.  We 
passed  on  five  miles  further,  and  camped  on  a  level  jilat  near  the  banks 
of  the  stream,  with  bushes  and  small  trees  growing  around  u?. 

June  18. — This  was  the  longest  and  hardest  day's  ride.  The  road 
was  very  bad ;  rooky  and  rough  where  it  descended  the  river,  and 
steep  and  diflieult  where  it  ascended  the  mountain  side.  We  thought 
that  tlie  engineer  who  planned  and  constructed  the  road  had  frequently 
"taken  the  bull  by  the  horns,"  and  selected  the  worst  jilaces  to  run  his 
road  over ;  and  that  he  would  have  done  much  better  had  he  occasion- 
ally have  thrown  a  bridge  across  the  stream,  and  led  the  road  along  the 
flank  of  the  mountains  on  the  other  side.  In  seven  and  a  half  miles 
we  arrived  at  Utcuyacu,  (cotton  water,)  the  first  hacienda  where  we 
Buw  sugar-catic,  yucca,  pine-apples,  and  plantains.  It  had  just  been 
opened,  and  nothing  yet  had  been  sold  from  it. 

The  road,  by  which  we  had  descended  the  valley  of  Chjinchamayo, 
turned  at  this  place  sharp  to  the  right,  and  faced  the  mountains  that 
divide  this  valley  froth  that  of  the  Rio  Seco.  We  were  near  tlio 
junction  of  the  two  valleys,  but  a  rock  had  fallen  from  the  hills  alxtvo 
and  blocked  up  the  road  on  which  we  were  travelling,  so  that  wo  had 
to  cross  the  mountain  on  our  riglit  and  get  into  the  other  valley.  The 
aacent  was  steep,  and  trying  to  man  and  beast.  It  is  called  tlio  "  Cn-esta 
de  Tinujachncn^''  or  "Hill  of  take  care  of  your  hat,"  and  is  about  three 
miles  in  length.  The  road,  after  j>assing  throJigh  a  thick  forest,  brought 
us  out  upon  a  bald  eminence,  the  termination  of  the  spur  of  the  Andes 
that  divides  th«'  two  valleys.  The  rivers  Seco  and  Chanchamayo  unite 
at  its  base  and  flow  oil*  through  a  valley,  rapidly  widening  out,  covered 
with  forests,  and  presenting  an  appearance  entirely  distinct  from  the 


THE    MONTAffA.  79 

rocky  and  stern  sterility  that  characterizes  the  country  above.  This  is 
the  "  Montana "  of  which  I  had  thought  so  much.  I  was  wofully 
disappointed  in  its  appearance.  I  had  taken  the  impression  that  I 
should  behold  a  boundless  plain,  alternating  with  forest  and  prairie, 
covered  with  waving  grass,  and  with  a  broad  and  gentle  river  winding 
its  serpentine  course  through  it,  between  banks  rich  with  the  palm  and 
plantain.  In  place  of  this,  the  view  from  the  mountain  top  showed  a 
country  broken  still  into  mountain  and  valley,  (though  on  a  much 
smaller  scale  than  above,)  shaggy  with  trees  and  undergrowth  of  every 
description,  and  watered  by  a  small  stream,  still  foaming  and  roaring 
over  its  rocky  bed. 

We  descended  the  hill  by  a  very  circuitous  and  precipitous  path, 
most  of  us  on  foot,  though  it  may  be  ridden  over,  for  Mr.  Gibbon  did 
ride  over  the  worst  parts  of  it,  and  only  dismounted  where  a  fallen  tree 
made  an  obstruction  that  he  could  not  pass.  The  descent  brought  us 
to  the  rocky  bed  of  the  Rio  Seco,  crossing  which  we  were  clear  of  the 
eastern  chain  of  the  Andes  and  in  the  Montana  of  Chanchamayo. 

As  far  as  the  traveller  is  concerned  there  are  not,  on  the  route  we 
have  travelled,  two  ranges  of  the  Andes — that  is,  he  has  not  to  ascend 
and  descend  one  range,  and  then  ascend  and  descend  another.  From 
the  time  he  crosses  the  Cordillera  at  Antarangra,  his  progress  is  down- 
ward till  he  reaches  the  plain.  Really  there  are  two.  The  streams 
from  the  first,  or  western  range,  have  broken  their  way  through  the 
second,  making  deep  gorges,  at  the  bottom  of  which  the  road  generally 
runs,  and  leaves  the  peaks  of  the  second  range  thousands  of  feet  above 
the  head  of  the  traveller. 

A  league  from  the  crossing  of  the  Rio  Seco,  we  passed  a  bad  and 
broken  biidge,  that  spans  a  small  stream  called  " Punta  Yacu^'' coming 
down  a  valley  from  the  southward,  and  halted  at  the  hacienda  of  Don 
Jose  Manuel  Cardenas,  the  first  of  the  Montana,  where  we  camped  for 
the  night. 

June  19. — Six  miles  of  travel  brought  us  to  the  fort  of  San  Ramon. 
The  road  is  a  black  mud  bridle-path  through  the  woods,  much  ob- 
structed with  the  roots  and  branches  of  trees,  but  level.  Comparatively 
few  rocks  are  seen  after  leaving  Cardenas.  We  were  kindly  received 
by  the  commandant,  Don  Juan  Noel,  a  fine-looking  young  man,  Cap- 
tain of  Frigate  and  Lieutenant  Colonel  in  the  Army,  and  his  officers 

Major  Umeres  and  Lieutenant . 

■  Fort  San  Ramon  is,  by  Mer.  alt.  of  "y  Crusis,"  in  latitude  11°.07  S. 
Its  height  above  the  level  of  the  sea,  as  given  by  "barometer,  is  two 
thousand  six  hundred  and  ten  feet. 


80 


ELEVATIONS. 


From  the  first  of  March  to  the  last  of  August  the  climate  is  deligkt- 
ful ;  but  the  heavy  and  almost  continuous  rains  of  the  other  six  mouths 
of  the  year  make  it  disagreeable,  but  not  unhealthy. 

As  wo  are  now  near  the  foot  of  the  mountains,  on  the  eastern  slope, 
I  give  a  table  of  the  distances  and  elevations  of  various  points  on  the 
route.  The  B.  P.  opposite  some  of  the  elevations  show  that  these 
were  indicated  by  the  temperature  of  boiling  water: 


Flac«8. 


Callao 

Lima 

Pacayar 

Yanacoto 

Coeacbacra . 

Mitjf)c 

San  Mnrt'M 

Acclialiuiiicu 

Pass  of  AiitarHiigra. 

Do.  do. 

Pachachaca 

Oroya 

Do 

Taniia 

Palca 

Maticliacni 

Huaca|)i-ilituna 

ChalluH|iii>|iiio 

Furt  tSaii  UauM>K 

Do.        do.       ... 


Distances. 


Height  above  the 
level  of  the  sea. 


MiUa. 


6 

12 

10 

16 

15 

13 

9 

6 

6 

13 

12 

12 

18 

11 

12 

4 

12 

C 


Fett. 


47G 

1,3>G 

2, 3:57 

4,452 

7,3(12 

10,200 

12,  898 

16,044 

16,  l!>y 

12,7t<6 

11,654 

11,825 

9,738 

8,512 

7,091 

5,6"7 

3, 192 

2,605 

2, 953 


B.  P. 

B.  P. 
B.  P. 

B.  P. 


The  barometer  gave  the  height  of  a  point,  four  miles  above  Tarma, 
at  eleven  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  So  that  there  is  a 
descent  in  these  four  miles  of  distance  of  one  thousand  five  hundred  and 
thirty-five  feet.  The  ascent,  liowever,  between  Acchahuarcu  and  the 
top  of  tlie  hill  on  which  we  observed,  at  the  Pjuss  of  Antarangra,  is 
steeper  than  this,  being  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty-eight 
feet  in  six  miles. 

From  Yanacoto,  on  the  western  slope  of  the  Andes,  to  the  top  of  the 
Pass,  is  titty -nine  miles;  from  the  top  of  the  Pass  to  Fort  San  Ramon, 
on  the  eastern  slope,  which  is  two  hundred  and  seventy  feet  higher  than 
Yanacoto,  is  eighty-eight  miles.  This  gives  the  a.scent  of  the  Andes, 
on  its  western  slope,  at  U32  feet  to  the  mile,  and  on  its  easlorn  slope 
at  152. 


-■1 


mm$ii^: 


PORT    SAN    RAMOX.  81 

Yanacoto  is  only  twenty-eight  miles  from  the  ocean  that  washes  the 
base  of  the  slope  on  which  it  is  situated.  Fort  San  Ramon,  (at  nearly 
the  same  elevation  as  Yanacoto,)  by  the  winding  of  the  river,  cannot  be 
much  less  than  four  thousand  miles  from  its  ocean,  and  in  the  direct 
course  of  the  river  is  at  least  two  thousand  five  hundred  miles.  But  I 
am  of  opinion,  from  some  observations  made  afterwards  with  a  boiling- 
point  apparatus,  that  the  indications  of  the  barometer,  at  the  eastern 
foot  of  the  Andes,  are  not  to  be  depended  upon ;  and  that  San  Ramon 
has  a  greater  elevation  than  is  shown  by  the  barometer. 

The  fort  is  a  stockade,  embracing  about  six  acres,  armed  with  four 
brass  four-pounders,  and  garrisoned  with  forty-eight  men.  It  is  situated 
at  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Ghanchamayo  and  Tulumayo — the  former 
about  thirty  and  the  latter  forty  yards  wide — both  shallow  and  ob- 
structed with  rocks.  The  current  seemed  about  five  or  six  miles  the 
hour.  A  canoe,  well  managed,  might  shoot  down  the  Tulumayo  as 
far  as  we  saw  it. 

The  fort  was  constructed  in  184Y,  under  the  direction  of  President 
Castilla,  for  the  purpose  of  affording  protection  to  the  cultivators  of  the 
farms  in  its  rear.  It  doubtless  does  this  against  the  unwarlike  Indians 
of  this  country ;  but  I  imagine  that  North  American  Indians,  actuated 
by  the  feelings  of  hostility  which  these  people  constantly  evince,  would 
cross  the  rivers  above  the  fort  and  sweep  the  plantations  before  the 
soldiers  could  reach  them.  The  Indians  have  abandoned  all  idea  of 
reconquering  the  territory  they  have  lost,  but  are  determined  to  dispute 
the  passage  of  the  rivers  and  any  attempt  at  further  conquest.  They 
never  show  themselves  now  in  person,  but  make  their  presence  evident 
by  occasionally  setting  fire  to  the  woods  and  grass  on  the  hill-sides,  and 
discharging  their  arrows  at  any  incautious  person  who  may  wander  too 
near  the  banks  of  the  rivers. 

Noel  told  us  that  many  attempts  had  been  made  to  establish  friendly 
relations  with  them.  In  former  times  the  Indians  used  to  advance  out 
of  the  forest,  to  the  further  bank  of  the  river,  and  hold  conversations 
and  exchange  presents  with  the  ofiicers  of  the  post.  They  gave  bows 
and  arrows,  rare  birds  and  animals,  and  received  in  return,  knives,  beads, 
and  looking-glasses.  But  these  parleys  always  ended  with  expressions 
of  defiance  and  insult  towards  the  whites  on  the  part  of  the  Indians, 
and  frequently  with  a  flight  of  arrows. 

He  related  to  us,  that  a  year  or  two  ago  a  General  Castillo,  with  some 
ofiicers,  came  to  visit  the  fort,  and  wished  to  try  their  skill  at  negotia- 
tion. Accordingly,  whilst  they  were  at  dinner,  the  sentinel  reported  that 
an  Indian  had  made  his  appearance ;  whereupon  the  party  rose  from 


82  CHUNCHOS    INDIAN'S. 

the  table  and  went  down  to  tlie  ri^-^r-side  to  liave  a  talk.  The  Indian, 
after  salutations,  made  signs  for  a  looking-glass,  which  was  thrown  over 
to  him ;  then,  for  a  knife,  with  which  he  was  also  gratified.  He  then 
asked  for  a  tinder-box.  There  being  none  at  hand,  Noel  went  up  to  his 
quarters  for  some.  On  his  return,  he  met  an  officer  coming  up  the 
bank,  with  an  arrow  through  his  arm ;  and  shortly  after,  another,  with 
one  planted  deep  in  his  back,  between  the  shoulders.  It  appears  that, 
as  soon  as  the  Indian  had  received  his  presents,  he  drew  his  bow  at  the 
general.  The  party  turned  to  fly ;  but  a  flight  of  arrows  from  the 
forest  wounded  the  two  officers ;  and  the  one  who  was  shot  in  the  back 
died  of  the  wound  eight  days  afterwards.  These  arrow-shots  are  of 
frequent  occurrence ;  and  several  of  the  soldiers  of  the  fort  have  been 
severely  wounded.  A  number  of  arrows  were  discharged  at  some 
soldiers,  who  were  washing  their  clothes  near  the  banks  of  the  river, 
whilst  we  were  here.  We  picked  them  up,  and  the  commandant  made 
us  a  present  of  them. 

These  arrows,  as  are  the  arrows  of  all  the  Indians  I  have  met  with,  are 
so  heavy  that,  at  a  greater  distance  than  twenty  or  thirty  yards,  it  is 
necessary  to  discharge  them  at  an  elevation,  so  that  they  shall  describe 
a  curve  in  the  air ;  and  it  is  wonderful  to  see  with  what  precision  the 
Indians  will  calculate  the  arc,  and  regulate  the  force  so  that  the  arrow 
shall  fall  upon  the  object.  On  the  Amazon  many  fish  and  turtle  are 
taken  with  bows  and  arrows.  An  Indian  in  a  canoe  discharges  his 
arrow  in  the  air.  It  describes  a  parabola,  and  lights  upon  the  back  of 
a  fish,  which  the  unpractised  eye  has  not  been  able  to  see.  The  barb, 
with  which  the  arrow  is  armed,  ships  on  the  end  of  it,  and  is  held  in  its 
place  by  a  cord  which  wraps  around  the  shaft  of  the  arrow,  and  is  tied 
to  its  middle.  The  plunge  of  the  fish  shakes  the  arrow  clear  of  the 
barb ;  the  cord  unwinds,  and  the  arrow  floats  upon  the  water — an  im- 
pediment to  the  fish,  and  a  guide  to  the  fisherman,  who  follows  his 
arrow  till  the  fish  or  turtle  is  dead.  The  motion  of  the  arrow  is  so  slow, 
and  it  is  so  readily  seen  in  its  course,  that  I  imagine  there  would  be  no 
danger  in  the  reception  of  single  arrow-shots  in  front ;  for  an  abundance 
of  time  is  allowed  to  step  aside  and  avoid  them.  I  have  seen  boys  shoot- 
ing at  buzzards  on  the  beach ;  and  the  aiTow  would  alight  upon  the 
▼ery  spot  where  the  bird  had  been  sitting,  some  seconds  after  he  had 
left  it. 

"WTiilst  here,  we  visited  the  haciendas  of  the  Brothers  Santa  Mafia, 
Padre  Saurez,  and  Zapatero-^all,  I  believe,  inhabitants  of  Tarma.  That 
of  the  last  seemed  the  largest,  and  the  best  order  of  any  that  I  had 
yet  seen.    A  description  of  the  method  of  cultivating  the  staples  of  the 


FARMING    IN    THE    MONT  A??  A.  83 

country  practised  on  this  farm,  will  give  an  idea  of  the  general  system 
of  farming  in  the  Montaiia. 

Zapatero  has  about  one  hundred  acres  cleared,  and  most  of  it  planted 
in  cane,  coca,  yucca,  pine-apples,  plantains,  coffee,  and  cotton.  The  farm 
employs  a  mayordomo,  or  steward,  and  four  resident  laborers.  These 
are  serfs,  and  cost  the  employer  their  support  and  seven  dollars  a  year 
each  for  their  contribution  to  the  government,  or  poll  tax.  When  more 
land  is  to  be  cleared,  or  the  coca  crop  gathered,  laborers  are  hired  from 
the  neighboring  villages  of  Tarma,  Ocsabamba,  or  Palca,  at  nominal 
wages  of  half  a  dollar  a  day;  but  their  support  is  charged  to  them, 
at  such  prices  as  to  swallow  up  nearly  all  the  wages.  A  sheep,  for  ex- 
ample, is  charged  to  them  at  three  dollars :  its  price  in  Tarma  is  one ; 
yucca  at  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  the  arroba,  of  twenty-five  pounds  ; 
potatoes  at  fifty  cents;  maize  at  sixty-two  and  a  half  cents.  This  is  the 
maize  of  the  hacienda;  if  it  is  supplied  from  the  Sierra  it  is  one  dollar 
and  fifty  cents.  The  laborers  who  live  on  the  estate  seem  contented 
with  their  lot;  they  dwell  in  small,  filthy  cane  houses,  with  their  wives 
and  children ;  do  very  little  work,  and  eat  chalona,  (or  dried  mutton,) 
charqui,  (or  jerked  beef,)  yucca,  cancha,  sweet  potatoes,  and  beans;  and 
drink  "  huara^io,"  (the  fermented  juice  of  the  cane,)  and  sometimes  a 
glass  of  bad  rum  made  from  it.  They  occasionally  desert ;  but  if  they 
do  this,  they  must  get  some  distance  off,  or  custom,  if  not  law,  would 
return  them  as  debtors  to  their  masters. 

Sugar-cane  is  propagated,  not  from  seed  but  from  the  top  joints  of  the 
old  plant,  and  is  planted  at  the  commencement  of  the  rainy  season  in 
September.  It  is  ready  for  cutting  in  a  year ;  it  yields  again  every  ten 
mouths,  improving  in  quality  and  size  every  crop  for  a  number  of  years, 
according  to  the  quality  of  the  land  and  the  care  bestowed  upon  it.  It 
will  continue  to  spring  up  from  the  roots  for  fifty  or  sixty  years,  with 
one  or  two  light  workings  with  hoes  in  the  year.  The  field  is  set  fire 
to  after  every  cutting,  to  burn  up  the  rubbage,  weeds,  &c.  The  average 
height  of  the  cane  is  about  ten  feet,  though  I  have  seen  a  stalk  of  six- 
teen feet. 

Two  men  to  cut  and  two  to  carry,  will  supply  a  mill  called  "  Tra- 
picke"  which  consists  of  three  upright  wooden  rollers,  in  a  rude  wooden 
frame.  These  rollers  are  cogged  and  placed  close  to  each  other.  The 
head  of  the  middle  one  extends  above  the  frame,  and  is  squared,  so  as 
to  allow  the  shipping  on  it  of  a  long  beam,  to  the  end  of  which  an  ox 
is  harnessed,  which,  walking  in  a  circle,  gives  motion  to  the  rollers. 
The  end  of  the  cane  is  placed  between  the  rollers,  and  is  drawn  in  and 
crushed  by  them;  a  wooden  trough  is  placed  below,  to  catch  the  juice. 


84  FARMING    IX    THE    MONTANA. 

Such  a  mill  will  yield  fifteen  hundred  pounds  of  caldo  or  juice  in  a  day. 
These  fifteen  hundred  pounds  will  give  from  two  hundred  and  fifty  to 
three  hundred  pounds  of  sugar,  which  is  worth  in  Tarma  tweKe  and  a 
half  cents  the  pound. 

Sugar-cane  is  the  most  valuable  and  useful  product  of  the  Montana. 
The  loaves  of  the  cane,  wlien  green,  serve  for  food  for  the  cattle ;  when 
dry,  to  make  wrappings  for  the  chancaca  and  sugar.  The  crushed  stalk 
is  used  as  fuel  for  the  oven.  The  liogs  fatten  on  the  foam  at  the  top  of 
the  boiling.  From  the  first  boiling  is  made  the  chancaca  or  brown  sugar 
cake,  which  is  eaten  after  dinner  by  almost  all  classes,  and  in  great 
quantities  by  the  lower  class;  it  is  worth  six  and  a  quarter  cents  the 
pound  in  Tarma.  From  one  thousand  pounds  of  the  caldo  boiled  ten 
hours,  is  made  four  hundred  pounds  of  chancaca.  Very  little  sugar  is 
yet  made  in  the  Montana  of  Chanchamayo ;  indeed,  I  did  not  see  a 
nearer  approach  to  it  than  chancaca  in  all  the  route. 

Coca  is  a  bush  of  about  four  feet  high,  producing  a  small  light-green 
leaf,  which  is  the  part  used.  The  blossom  is  white,  and  the  fruit  a 
small  red  berr}'.  The  seed  is  sown  in  beds  at  the  end  of  the  ramy 
season — about  the  first  of  March.  The  earth  should  be  well  broken  up 
and  cleaned.  Arbors  of  palm  leaves  are  frequently  built  over  the 
young  shoots  to  protect  them  from  the  sun,  and  they  are  watered,  if  it 
continues  clear,  for  five  or  six  days.  It  is  transplanted  in  September,  a 
year  and  a  half  after  planting,  and  gives  its  first  crop  in  a  year,  and 
every  four  months  thereafter.  The  bush,  if  not  destroyed  by  ants,  will 
continue  to  give  leaves  for  many  years.  Sometimes,  but  rarely,  the 
leaves  wither  and  the  crop  fails.  It  is  necessary  to  gather  the  loaves 
and  dry  them  as  quickly  as  possible,  and,  if  a  shower  comes  on,  to  gather 
tliem  up  at  once,  as  they  are  injured  by  getting  wet.  Every  hundred 
plants  will  give  an  arroba  of  leaves,  which  is  worth,  in  Tarma,  from  six 
to  seven  dollars.  Some  persons  do  not  transplant,  but  sow  several  of  the 
seed  together,  and,  when  they  come  up,  pull  up  all  but  the  one  most 
flourishing,  and  leave  that  in  its  original  place. 

The  leaf  of  this  plant  is  to  the  Indian  of  Peru  what  tobacco  is  to 
our  laboring  classes  in  the  South — a  luxury,  which  has  l>ecome  a 
necessity.  Supplied  with  an  abundance  of  it,  he  sometimes  f>erf(»rms 
pro<iigies  of  labor,  and  can  go  without  foo<l  for  several  days.  W'illiout 
it,  he  is  njisorable  and  will  not  work.  It  is  said  to  be  a  powerful 
stimulant  to  the  nervous  system,  and,  like  strong  cofieo  or  tea,  to  take 
away  sleep;  but,  unlike  tobacco  and  other  stimulants,  no  one  has 
known  it  to  be  injurious  to  the  health.  Von  Tschuiii  thinks  that  an 
immoderate  use  of  it  is  injurious,  but  tliat,  taken  in  moderation,  it  is  in 


f 


FARMING    IN    THE    MONTAPJa.  85 

no  way  detrimental  to  health ;  and  that  without  it  the  Peruvian  Indian, 
with  his  spare  diet,  would  be  incapable  of  going  through  the  labor 
which  ho  now  performs.  The  coca  plant  he  therefore  considers  as  a 
great  blessing  to  Peru. 

He  relates  that  an  Indian,  employed  by  him  in  digging,  worked  hard 
for  five  nights  and  days  without  intermission,  except  for  two  hours  each 
night — and  this  without  food.  Immediately  after  the  work  the  Indian 
accompanied  him  on  a  two  days'  journey  of  twenty-three  leagues  on 
foot,  and  then  declared  that  he  was  ready  to  engage  in  the  same  amount 
of  work,  and  go  through  it  without  food,  if  he  were  allowed  an  abund- 
ance of  coca.  This  man  was  sixty-two  years  of  age,  and  had  never  been 
sick  in  his  life. 

Coffee  is  propagated  from  suckers  or  slips,  and  it  is  necessary  to 
protect  the  plants  from  the  sun  by  cultivating  the  broad-leaved  plantain 
among  them  till  they  have  grown  up  to  about  four  feet  in  height.  No 
care,  except  an  occasional  cleaning  about  the  roots,  is  taken  of  them 
here,  and  yet  the  finest  coffee  I  have  ever  drunk  was  from  this  district. 
The  bush  grows  to  seven  or  eight  feet  in  height,  and  is  very  beautiful 
in  appearance.  It  has  a  small  and  very  dark  green  leaf,  pure  white 
blossoms,  and  green,  red,  and  dark  purple  fruit  on  it  at  the  same  time. 
It  gives  its  first  crop  in  two  years ;  but  this  is  small  in  quantity,  and 
indifferent  in  quality.  The  bush  is  not  in  perfection  until  four  or  five 
years  after  planting,  and  will  then  last  for  an  indefinite  period.  The 
fruit  has  the  size  and  appearance  of  a  small  cherry.  Two  seeds  are 
contained  in  each  berry.  Each  seed  is  wrapped  in  a  thin  pjlper-like 
envelope,  and  both  together  are  covered  with  another,  and  then 
surrounded  by  a  sweet,  pleasant-tasting  pulp,  which  is  covered  with  a 
thin  skin.  Having  no  machines  for  getting  rid  of  this  pulp,  the  culti- 
vators gather  the  fruit,  dry  it  in  the  sun,  and  then  soak  it  in  water  till 
all  the  envelopes  come  off,  except  the  paper-like  skin  surrounding  each 
seed.  The  seeds  are  again  dried  in  the  sun,  and  sent  to  market  with 
this  skin  on.  It  is  worth  eight  dollars  the  hundred  pounds  in  Tarma. 
In  Lima  it  generally  commands  twenty,  and  sometimes  twenty-five 
and  twenty-seven  dollars,  on  account  of  its  great  superiority  to  the 
coffee  of  Guayaquil  and  Central  America,  which  is  generally  used 
there. 

"  Cotton  "  may  be  planted  at  any  time.  It  does  not  grow  on  a  bush 
or  plant,  as  with  us,  but  on  a  tree  some  eight  or  ten  feet  high.  It  gives 
its  first  crop  in  a  year,  and  will  continue  to  give  for  three  years ;  after 
which  the  tree  dries  up,  and  it  is  necessary  to  replant.  It  bears  cotton 
all  the  time ;  but  this  is  not  good  nor  gathered  during  the  rainy  season. 


86  FARMING  IN  THE  MONTANA. 

T  could  not  ascertain  how  niucli  cotton  a  tree  will  give  in  its  lifetime, 

V, I   but,  from  the  quantity  of  blossoms  and  bulls  I  saw  on  them,  I  should 

think  its  yield  was  great.     The  quality,  particularly  that  of  Chjincha- 

J'         mayo,  is  very  sujK-rior.     It  is  the  black-seed  cotton,  and  when  picked 

off  leaves  the  seed  perfectly  bare  and  clean. 

There  is  also  nankeen-colored  cotton  here,  (the  tree  seeming  in  every 
respect  like  that  of  the  white ;)  and  afterwards,  in  Brazil,  I  saw  green- 
seed  cotton,  in  which  the  seed  (generally  seven  in  number  for  each  boll, 
or  rather  for  each  division  of  it,  for  the  boll  seemed  to  hold  the  cotton 
in  four  distinct  parts)  were  aggregated  in  a  single  knot,  and  enveloped 
by  the  cotton.  An  active  man  will  pick  one  hundred  pounds  of  cotton 
^  a  day. 

"  Yucca^^  (cassava  root,)  which  is  grown  from  the  stalk  of  the  plant, 
is  planted  at  any  time.  It  yields  in  nine  months.  The  plant  runs  up 
to  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  in  height,  with  about  the  thickness  of  a  man's 
wrist.  It  is  difficult  to  distinguish  this  plant,  or  its  fruit,  from  the 
raandioc.  Tlie  mandioc  is  called  in  Peru  "  yucca  brava,"  or  wild  yucca ; 
and  this  yucca  dulce,  or  sweet  yucca.  This  may  be  eaten  raw ;  the 
juice  of  the  other  is  a  deadly  poison.  The  yucca  answers  the  same 
purpose  in  Peru  that  the  mandioc  does  in  Brazil.  It  is  the  general 
substitute  for  bread,  and  roasted  or  boiled  is  very  pleasant  to  the  taste. 
The  most  common  drink  of  the  Indians,  called  "masato,"*  is  also  made 
from  it.  Each  plant  will  give  from  twenty  to  twenty -five  pounds  of  the 
edible  root,  which  grows  in  clusters  like  the  potato,  and  some  of  whieh 
are  as  long  and  thick  as  a  man's  arm. 

Three  crops  of  '"'■  Indian  coni'^  are  made  in  the  year.  It  is  of  goiMl 
quality,  but  much  care  is  necessary  to  preserve  it  from  weevil  and  other 
insects  after  it  is  gathered  and  ]»ut  away.  It  is  gent-rally  placed  in  an 
upper  story  of  a  house,  and  a  tire  is  kindled  undernc.ith  from  time  to 
time  to  smoke  it,  or  it  will  all  be  destroyed. 

"7'/o/a»/o.'(" — which  is  the  general  name  for  all  kinds  of  plantains,  or 
bananas,  of  which  last  there  are  several  species,  called  respectively 
*^ guijieas^''  de  la  isla,  <fec. — are  the  most  common  fruit  of  the  country. 
The  people  eat  them  raw,  roasted,  boiled,  baked,  and  fried.  There  can 
be  no  dinner  without  them  ;  and  a  vile  rum  is  also  made  of  them.     By 

*MaKato  in  mad<>  from  tho  yurra  by  raiipinK  ^^^  root  to  a  whito  pulp,  and  then 
boiling  it.  During  iIih  boiiiiiK  tin'  In  linn  women,  who  are  mnliiiiK  it,  take  portionfl 
into  their  muiithR,  ehew  it,  and  ipit  into  the  |K>t.  After  it  i«  nuflieiently  heated  it 
it  put  into  lHr({e  earthen  jam,  C(»v4>red  and  nnffered  t<»  fennent.  Wiien  used  it  U 
taken  out  of  the  jar  by  tho  handful,  mixed  witli  water  in  a  K""rd,  stirred  with  tho 
fingers  and  drunk.     It  ii  a  difgusting  beverage,  and  powerfully  intoxicating. 


FARMING   IN    THE    MONTANA.  S7 

the  Indians  the  fruit  is  generally  cut  green  and  roasted.  It  is  propa- 
gated from  suckers  or  young  bulbs,  and  gives  fruit  with  such  facility  and 
abundance  as  to  foster  and  minister  to  the  laziness  of  the  people,  who 
won't  work  when  they  can  get  anything  so  good  without  it. 

I  have  frequently  thought  that  a  governor  would  do  a  good  act,  and 
improve  the  condition,  or  at  least  the  character,  of  the  governed,  who 
would  set  fire  to,  or .  grub  up  every  "  platanal"  in  his  district,  and  thus 
compel  the  people  to  labor  a  little  for  their  bread. 

The  other  fruits  are  pine-apjyles^  of  tolerable  quality,  which  doubtless 
would  be  very  fine  with  care  and  attention ;  sou7'  sop,  a  kind  of  bastard 
chirimoya  ;  and  papayo,  a  large  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  common  musk- 
melon,  with  a  green  skin  and  yellow  pulp,  which  is  eaten,  and  is  very 
sweet  and  of  delicate  flavor.  It  has  seed  like  the  musk  melon,  and 
grows  under  the  leaves  of  a  kind  of  palm  in  clusters  like  the  cocoanut. 
There  are  a  few  orange  trees,  but  no  fruit.  An  orange  tree  does  not 
give  good  fruit  under  six  years,  and  most  of  the  haciendas  have  been 
under  cultivation  but  three. 

The  only  farming  utensils  used  in  Chanchamayo  are  short  coarse 
sabres,  with  which  weeds  are  cut  uj),  and  holes  dug  in  the  earth  in 
which  to  plant  the  seed. 

This  is  not  a  good  grazing  country,  though  there  were  some  cattle 
belonging  to  the  fort  which  seemed  in  good  condition.  All  the  meat 
used  is  brought  from  Sierra.  It  seems  difiicult  to  propagate  cattle 
in  this  country.  All  the  calves  are  born  dead,  or  die  soon  after  birth 
with  a  goitre  or  swelling  in  the  neck.  I  had  no  opportunity  of  investi- 
gating this  ;  but  I  saw  afterwards,  in  an  account  of  a  missionary  expe  • 
dition  made  by  an  Italian  friar,  Father  Castrucci  de  Vernazza,  to  the 
Indians  of  the  Pastaza,  in  1846,  "that  cattle  were  raised  with  great 
difficulty  about  Mayobamba,  on  account  of  the 'subyacuro,' a  species 
of  worm,  which  introduces  itself  between  the  cuticle  and  cellular  tissue, 
producing  large  tumors,  which  destroy  the  animal." 

The  houses  on  the  haciendas  are  built  of  small,  rough  hewn,  upright 
posts,  with  rafters  of  the  same  forming  the  frame,  which  is  filled  in  with 
wild  cane  (cana  brava,)  and  thatched  with  a  species  of  narrow-leafed 
palm,  which  is  plaited  over  a  long  pole  and  laid  athwart  the  rafters. 
The  leaves  lie,  one  set  over  the  other,  like  shingles,  and  form  an  effectual 
protection  against  the  rain  and  sun ;  though  I  should  think  the  rain 
would  beat  in  through  the  cane  of  the  sides,  as  few  of  the  houses  are 
plastered.  The  commandant  of  the  fort  was  anxious  to  have  his  build- 
ings tiled,  as  this  palm  thatch,  when  dry,  is  exceedingly  inflammable ; 
and  he   felt  that  the  buildings  of  the  fort  were  in  constant  danger  from 


88  FARMING    IN    THE    MONTANA. 

the  not  distant  firea  of  the  savages.  Senor  Zapatero  told  me  that  ho 
had  contracted  with  a  workman  to  biiild  him  a  large  adobe  house  on 
his  hacienda,  well  fitted  with  dof^rs  and  windows  of  good  wood,  and 
tiled,  to  make  it  fire-proof,  for  eight  hundred  dollars.  The  same  house 
in  Tarma  would  cost  him  between  three  and  four  thousand,  on  account 
of  the  exceeding  difficulty  of  getting  the  wood  from  the  Montana. 
He  is  a  Catalan,  and  seems  a  resolute  fellow.  He  thinks  that  the  gov- 
ernment may  withdraw  the  troops  from  the  fort  at  any  time ;  but  says 
that  he  has  four  swivels,  which  he  means  to  mount  around  his  house; 
and,  as  he  has  expended  much  labor  and  money  on  his  hacienda,  he  will 
hold  on  to  the  last  extremity,  and  not  give  up  his  property  without  a 
tussle. 

It  is  a  pity  that  there  are  not  more  like  him,  for  many  acres  of  fine 
land  are  lying  uncultivated  in  Chanchamayo  on  account  of  this  fear ; 
and  several  of  our  Tarma  friends  offered  us  title  deeds  to  large  tracts  of 
land  there,  because  a  feeling  of  insecurity  regarding  the  stability  of  the 
government  prevented  them  from  expending  time  and  money  in  the 
cultivation  of  them.  Another  such  administration  as  that  just  closed 
under  President  Castilla  will  dis-sipate  this  apprehension  ;  and  then,  if 
the  Peruvian  government  would  invite  settlers,  giving  them  the  means 
of  reaching  there,  and  appropriating  a  very  small  sum  for  their  main- 
tenance till  they  could  clear  the  forest  and  gather  their  first  fruits,  I 
have  no  doubt  that  fifty  years  would  see  settlements  pushed  to  the 
navigable  head  waters  of  the  Ucayali,  and  the  colonists  would  find  pur- 
chasers for  the  ricli  and  varied  products  of  their  lands  at  their  very 
doors. 

JwM  2.3. — We  started  on  the  return  to  Tarma,  accompanied  by  the 
commandant  and  his  servant.  We  walked  up  a  part  of  the  hill  at  Rio 
Seco.  This  is  very  hard  work.  I  could  not  stand  it  more  than  half 
way,  and  made  the  mule  carry  me  over  the  rest.  It  t^ikes  one  hour  to 
ascend,  and  an  liour  and  a  quarter  to  descend.      Camped  at  Utcuyacu. 

June  24. — Missing  my  saddle  bags,  which  had  some  money  in  them, 
we  sent  Mariano,  (our  Tarma  servant,)  accompanied  by  the  servant  of 
the  commandant,  b.ick  to  a  place  some  distance  the  other  side  of  the 
big  hill,  where  the  saddle  bags  had  been  taken  off  to  adjust  the  saddle. 
Ho  started  at  six ;  we  at  eight,  following  our  return  track.  Wo  mado 
the  longest  and  hardest  day's  ride  wo  had  yet  ma<le ;  and  were  much 
Burpri8e<i  at  being  joined  by  the  servants  with  the  saddle-bags  by  nine 
p.  m.  Tliey  must  have  travelle<l  at  least  thirty-six  miles  over  these 
terrible  roads,  crossing  the  big  hill  twice,  and  ascending  quite  two 
thoasand  feet    Gibbon  did  not  believe  it.     He  thought — and  with 


RETURN    TO    TARMA.  89 

mucli  probability — that  the  boy  had  hid  the  saddle-bags  at  Utcuyacu, 
and  after  we  left  there  had  produced  them  and  followed  in  our  track, 
persuading  or  bribing  the  soldier  to  keep  the  secret.  The  commandant, 
however,  thought  his  servant  incorruptible,  and  that  this  was  no  great 
feat  for  these  people. 

One  of  our  peons  carried  on  his  back,  for  a  whole  day,  (fifteen  miles,) 
a  bundle  of  alfalfa  that  Gibbon  could  not  lift  with  ease,  and  pronounced, 
upon  trial,  to  be  heavier  than  I  am,  or  upwards  of  one  hundred  and 
twenty-five  pounds. 

June  26. — Discharged  Mariano  because  we  could  not  trust  him. 
Though  clever  and  active,  he  is  neglectful  and  dishonest.  We  thought 
it  rather  hard  that  the  "Cura"  should  have  recommended  him  to  us, 
as  his  character  was  notorious  in  the  town.  We  believed  that  the 
"Cura,"  with  the  people  generally,  was  glad  to  get  rid  of  him,  and 
was  disposed  to  palm  him  ofi"  on  any  body. 

We  delighted  the  Tarma  people  with  our  favorable  reports  of  the 
Chanchamayo,  and  they  loaded  us  with  civilities  and  kindness.  They 
did  not  like  the  idea  of  my  visiting  the  Montana  of  Pozuzu  and  Mayro; 
and  seemed  to  fear  that  I  might  find  there  a  better  communicatioa 
with  the  Amazon. 


90  DIVISION    OF    THE    PARTY. 


CHAPTER  Y. 

Division  of  the  party— Acobamba— Plain  of  Jiinin— Lake  CLinchaycocha— Pres- 
ervation of  potatoes— Corro  Pasco — Drainage  of  the  mines — Boliches. 

Gibbon  and  I  had  long  and  earnest  consultations  about  the  propriety 
of  dividing  the  party;  and  I  now  determined  to  do  so,  giving  tu  him  the 
task  of  exploring  the  Bolivian  tributaries,  while  I  took  the  headwaters 
and  main  trunk  of  the  Amazon.  It  was  a  bold,  almost  a  rash  determi- 
nation, for  the  party  seemed  small  enough  as  it  was;  and  we  might 
readily  encounter  difficulties  on  our  route  which  would  require  our 
united  exertions  to  overcome.  I  had  many  misgivings,  and  told  Gibbon 
at  first  that  it  seemed  midsummer  madness;  but  the  prospect  of  cover- 
ing such  an  extent  of  territory;  of  being  enabled  to  give  an  account  of 
countries  and  rivers  so  little  known;  and  the  reflection  that  I  need  not 
abandon  routes  that  I  had  looked  upon  with  a  longing  eye,  were  so 
tempting  that  tliey  overrode  all  objections ;  and  we  set  about  making 
our  preparations  for  the  separation. 

We  divided  the  equipage,  the  tocuyo,  or  cotton  cloth,  (which  we  had 
Hot  yet  touched,)  the  hatchets,  the  knives,  the  beads,  the  mirrors,  the 
arms  and  ammunition.  I  gave  Gibbon  fifteen  hundred  dollars  in  money, 
and  all  the  instruments,  except  some  thermometers  and  the  boiling-puint 
apparatus,  because  I  was  to  travel  a  route  over  which  sextants  and 
chronometers  had  been  already  carried ;  and  he  might  go  where  thej»o 
had  never  been.  I  directed  him  to  hire  a  guide  in  Tarma,  and,  so  soon 
as  Richards  (who  was  still  sick)  should  be  able  to  travel,  to  sUirt  for 
Cu/co,  and  search  for  the  headwaters  of  the  "Mad re  de  Dios." 

On  the  29th,  we  dined  with  General  Otero,  this  being  his  wife's  birth- 
day and  festival  of  St.  Peter.  Tlie  General,  being  an  Argentine  born, 
gave  us  the  national  dish — the  celebrated  canif  con  cuero,  or  l>cef,  sea- 
Roned  with  spices,  and  roasted  under  ground  in  the  hide,  which  is  said 
to  preserve  its  juices,  and  make  it  more  palatable.  I  obserAc*!  that  the 
soups  and  the  stews  were  c/>lored  with  ^'achote.^  This  is  the  urucu 
of  the  Urazilians,  of  which  the  dye  called  annatto  is  made.  It  grows 
w^ld  in  great  abundance  all  over  tlie  Montana,  and  is  extensivelv  used 
by  the  Indians  for  painting  their  bcKlies  and  dyeing  their  cotton  cloths. 
It  is  a  bush  of  eight  or  ten  feet  in  height,  and  bears  a  prickly  burr  like 


THE    SEPARATION.  91 

our  cbincapin.  This  burr  contains  a  number  of  small  red  seeds,  tbe  sMn 
or  covering  of  which  contains  the  coloring  matter. 

The  General  gave  us  some  "  quinua^''  the  seed  of  a  broom-like  bush, 
■which,  boiled  in  milk,  makes  a  pleasant  and  nutritious  article  of  food. 
The  grains  are  something  like  rice,  though  smaller,  and  contain  a  sort 
of  mucilaginous  matter.  He  also  gave  us  some  flower  seeds,  and  valua- 
ble specimens  of  silver  ore  from  his  mines  at  Cerro  Pasco.  He  has  large 
flocks  of  sheep,  the  wool  of  which  he  sends  to  Lima ;  and  has  introduced 
the  Merino,  which  thrives.  He  gave  us  some  asbestos  from  Cuzco,  and 
stalactites  from  a  cave  on  a  sheep  farm,  which,  he  says,  the  sheep  are 
fond  of  licking,  and  which  Von  Tschudi  pronounced  to  contain  Epsom 
salts.  I  could  detect  no  taste,  and  thought  it  a  kind  of  magnesia.  We 
parted  from  our  agreeable  host  and  kind  friend  with  regret. 

July  1. — I  started  at  noon  with  Ijurra  and  Mauricio,  accompanied 
by  Gibbon  and  Captain  Noel,  with  one  of  the  Seiiores,  Sta.  Marias.  At 
General  Otero's  gate,  Noel  left  us.  A  very  pleasant  gentleman  this ; 
and  I  shall  long  remember  his  kindness.  Soon  after,  Gibbon  and  I 
lingered  behind  the  company;  and  at  the  entrance  of  the  valley  of 
the  Acobamba,  which  route  I  was  to  take,  we  shook  hands  and  parted. 
I  had  deliberated  long  and  painfully  on  the  propriety  of  this  separation; 
I  felt  that  I  was  exposing  him  to  unknown  perils ;  and  I  knew  that  I 
was  depriving  myself  of  a  pleasant  companion  and  a  most  efficient 
auxiliary.  My  manhood,  under  the  depressing  influence  of  these  feel- 
ings, fairly  gave  way,  and  I  felt  again  that  '■^hysterico  passio^''  that 
swelling  of  the  heart  and  filling  of  ihe  eyes,  that  I  have  so  often  been 
called  upon  to  endure  in  parting  from  my  gallant  and  generous  com- 
rades of  the  navy. 

He  returned  to  make  the  necessary  arrangements  for  his  expedition. 
We  crossed  the  Chanchamayo  by  a  stone  bridge,  and  passed  through 
the  village  of  Acobamba.  This  town  contains  about  fifteen  hundred 
<ff  two  thousand  inhabitants;  but,  like  all  the  towns  in  the  SieiTa  at 
this  season,  it  appears  deserted — no  one  in  the  streets,  and  most  of  the 
doors  closed.  The  road  is  a  steady  and  tolerably  smooth  ascent  of  the 
valley,  which  is  narrow,  pretty,  and  well  cultivated.  As  usual,  the  hills 
facing  the  north  are  bare  and  rugged ;  those  facing  the  south  present 
more  vegetation,  but  this  is  scant.  Cactus  and  long  clump  grass  run  to 
•within  two-thirds  of  the  top,  and  then  the  rock  shoots  perpendicularly 
up  in  naked  majesty. 

Three  miles  above  Acobamba  we  passed  the  village  of  Picoi,  which 
has  its  plaza,  church  and  cemetery,  with  about  one  hundred  houses. 

Six  miles  further  brought  us  to  Palcamayo,  a  village  of  one  thousand 


92  PALCAMAYO. 

inhabitants,  belonging  to  the  "Doctrina"  of  Acobamba.  A  justice  of 
the  peace,  a  gooU-looking  Indian,  whom  we  encountered  sitting  at  the 
door  of  a  grog-shop  in  the  plaza,  conducted  us  to  the  house  of  the 
alcalde.  "We  found  this  worthy  drunk,  and  asleep  on  the  floor,  and 
were  much  annoyed  with  the  attentions  of  another  individual,  who  had 
a  very  dirty  poultice  on  his  jaws;  this  was  his  worship's  secretary,  who 
was  in  little  better  condition  than  his  patron.  Two  drunken  '^^regiJores" 
came  in  to  see  us;  and  it  seemed  that  all  the  magistracy  of  Palcamayo 
had  been  "on  a  spree."  They  required  the  money  of  us  before  they 
would  get  us  or  our  cattle  anything  to  eat. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  find  a  clearer  sky  and  a  purer  atmosphere 
than  we  had  here.  The  sky,  at  twilight,  looked  white  or  gray,  rather 
than  blue;  and  I  thought  it  was  cloudy  until  my  eye  fell  upon  the 
young  moon,  Milh  edges  as  distinct  and  clear  as  if  it  were  cut  out  of  silver, 
and  near  at  hand.  The  elevation  of  Palcamayo  is  ten  thousand  five 
hundred  and  thirty-nine  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

Juli/  2. — Thermometer,  at  6  a.  m.,  3T;  clear  and  calm.  Three  miles 
above  Palcamayo  we  left  the  maize  and  alfalfa,  and  encountered  potatoes 
and  barley.  The  road  a  league  above  this  point  turns  sharp  to  the 
westward,  and  ascends  a  steep  and  rugged  "fufs/a."  This  brought  us 
out  upon  a  small  plain,  bounded  by  low  hills,  and  dotted  with  small 
detached  houses,  built  of  stone  and  covered  with  conical  roofs  of  straw. 
They  M-ere  circular,  and  looked  like  bee-hives.  The  plain  was  covered 
with  a  short  grass,  and  many  tolerably  looking  cattle  and  sheep  were 
feeding  on  it.  A  small  stream,  coming  from  the  westward,  ran  throu::rh 
its  midst.  The  water  had  been  carried  by  a  canal  half-way  up  the  sides 
of  the  hills  that  bounded  the  plain  to  the  northward,  so  as  to  enable  the 
people  to  irrigate  the  whole  plain.  Where  the  water  had  broken 
through  the  canal,  and  spread  its«'lf  over  the  side  of  the  hill,  it  had 
frozen,  and  the  boys  were  amusing  themselves  sliding  down  it. 

At  the  western  edge  of  the  plain  is  the  village  of  "  Cacas^''  of  two 
hundred  and  fifty  or  three  hundred  inhabitants.  The  people  were  cele- 
brating the  festival  of  St.  Peter,  for  they  are  not  j-articular  about  days. 
The  church  was  lighted  and  decorated  with  all  the  frippery  that  could 
be  mustered;  and  preparati<.>n8  were  making  for  a  great  procession. 
There  wi-re  two  Indians,  or  Meztizos,  dressed  in  some  old-fashiontxl 
infantry  uniform,  with  epaulets;  flaming  nnl  sashes,  tied  in  monstrous 
bows  behind,  and  white  gloves.  (Th«!  cocked  hats,  for  size  and  varie- 
gated plumage,  iK'ggar  de.«cription.)  These  were  evidently  the  military 
part  of  the  procession;  one  was  mounted  on  a  little  shaggy  n.ig,  with 
his  sword  hanging  on  the  right-hand  aide;  and  the  other  was  strutting 


PLAIN    OF    JUNIN.  93 

about,  nearly  buried  in  his  cocked  liat.  while  just  fourteen  men  were 
employed  in  caparisoning  his  horse.  The  drinking  had  already  com- 
menced ;  most  of  the  population  were  getting  drunk  fast,  and  I  have  no 
doubt  tliere  was  a  grand  row  that  night. 

Drinking  seems  a  very  general  vice  amongst  the  inhabitants  of  these 
wet,  cold,  and  highly-elevated  plains.  The  liquor  is  invariably  the  Pisco 
or  lea  brandy,  made  in  that  province.  It  is  pleasant  to  the  taste  and 
of  good  quality.  In  the  Montana  we  had  often  occasion  to  regret  the 
exchange  of  this  for  new-made  cane  rum. 

The  hills  that  bound  the  plain  on  the  west  have  two  salt  springs, 
from  which  the  inhabitants  of  the  village  get  their  salt  by  evaporation. 
The  hill  over  which  we  rode  is  called  the  "  Cuesta  de  la  Veta,''^  because 
travellers  suffer  from  this  sickness  in  passing  it.  As  I  had  felt  nothing 
of  it,  even  at  the  Pass  of  Antarangra,  I  watched  very  closely  for  any 
symptoms  of  it  here ;  but  perceived  none,  though  I  sucked  a  cigar  all 
the  way  to  the  top.  The  road  to  the  top  of  the  Cuesta  is  about  three 
miles  in  length,  and  its  ascent  brought  us  to  the  historical  plain  of 
Junin,  where  Bolivar,  on  the  6th  of  August,  1824,  gave  the  Spaniards 
a  heavy  and  very  nearly  conclusive  overthrow.  Half  an  hour's  ride 
over  the  plain  brought  into  view  the  Western  Cordillera,  the  Lake  Chin- 
chaycocha,  and  the  pyramid  erected  by  Mariano  Rivero  (then  prefect 
of  the  province)  to  commemorate  the  battle.  It  stands  off  to  the  left 
of  the  road  about  a  league,  and  is  at  the  foot  of  a  little  hill,  where  the 
liberator  stood  to  direct  the  fight ;  it  is  white,  and  seemed  seventy  or 
eighty  feet  high.  Our  day's  ride  of  eighteen  miles  brought  us  to  the 
town  of  Junin,  where  we  took  lodgings  in  the  house  of  the  governor ; 
more  drunken  people  there. 

July  3. — Junin  is  a  village  of  one  thousand  inhabitants,  situated 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the  southern  extremity  of  the  lake 
Chinchaycocha,  and  twelve  thousand  nine  hundred  and  forty-seven 
feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  This  lake  is  twenty  miles  long,  in 
a  N.  W.  and  S.  E.  direction,  and  has  an  average  breadth  of  about 
six  miles.  It  is  said  to  discharge  its  waters  into  the  Amazon  by  the 
river  of  Jauxa,  which  we  crossed  at  Oroya,  and  which  is  a  tributary  of 
the  Ucayali. 

The  inhabitants  of  Junin,  and  the  other  towns  of  this  plain,  are  herds- 
men. They  raise  cattle  for  the  supply  of  Cerro  Pasco  and  Tarma,  and 
mules  for  beasts  of  burden.  Their  houses  are  built  of  mud  and  straw ; 
and  they  eat  mutton  and  macas,  (a  root  of  the  potato  kind,  but  looking, 
and  when  boiled  tasting,  more  like  a  turnip.)  The  people  of  these 
regions  find  it  very  difficult  to  procure  vegetables,  as  quinua  and  barley 


94  PRESERVATION    OF    THE    POTATO. 

will  not  grain,  nor  potatoes  grow,  in  the  wet  soil  and  cold  atmosphere  * 
of  the  plain.  They  therefore  have  to  resort  to  means  for  preserving  the 
potato  and  its  varieties,  which  are  got  from  the  valleys  of  the  A.ides. 
These  means  are,  generally,  drying  and  fret-zing;  and  they  make  a 
variety  of  preparations  from  the  potato  in  this  way.  The  macas  are 
simply  exposed  to  the  frost  and  sun  for  a  number  of  days,  and  then 
put  away  in  a  dry  room.  The  inhabitants  make  a  sort  of  suup  or  sirup 
of  them,  the  smell  of  which,  Rivero  says,  "is  a  little  disagreeable  to 
people  unaccustomed  to  it,"  (it  is  really  very  offensive;)  and  it  is  the 
general  opinion  that  it  is  a  stimulant  to  reprotluction. 

"  Caija''''  is  made  from  the  oca  and  the  muskua,  (a  variety  of  the  oca,) 
by  putting  them  in  water  till  they  rot,  and  then  exposing  them  to  the 
sun  and  cold.  This,  when  cooked,  smells  worse  than  the  macas,  and 
no  stomach  but  that  of  an  Indian  or  a  beast  could  possibly  tolerate  iU 

There  are  two  kinds  of  ^^chuno"  One  (the  black)  is  made  from  the 
common  potato  by  soaking  it  some  days  in  water,  then  pressing  it  to 
express  all  the  moisture,  and  freezing  it.  The  white  (called  moruy)  is 
made  from  a  large,  bitter  potato,  which  abounds  in  the  departments  of 
Junin,  Cuzco,  and  Puno.  The  potatoes  are  put  in  water,  in  a  bag,  at 
the  setting  of  the  sun,  and  taken  out  before  sunrise.  This  operation  is 
carried  on  for  fifteen  or  twenty  days.  It  is  an  especial  condition  of  this 
chuno's  turning  out  well  that  it  shall  be  put  in  water  after  sunset,  and 
taken  out  before  sunrise ;  for,  if  it  is  touched  by  the  sun,  it  immediately 
turns  black.     It  is  then  pressed  and  exposed  to  the  sun  for  a  few  days. 

"  Chochoca''^  is  the  common  potato,  first  cooked  and  peeled,  and  then 
frozen.     This  and  the  chuuo  are  healthy  and  nutritive  articles  of  diet 

I  quote  these  means  of  preserving  the  potato  and  its  varieties  from 
Rivero,  who  thinks  that  these  articles  of  food  will,  in  time,  l>ecome  of 
great  importance,  particularly  in  the  supply  of  the  army  ami  navy,  and 
for  long  journeys  or  voyages ;  and  that  if  the  European  nations  knew 
of  these  productions,  and  the  means  of  preserving  them,  they  would 
draw  great  advantages  from  the  knowledge. 

The  plain,  al)Out  forty-five  miles  long,  and  from  six  to  twelve  broad, 
is  generally  wet,  and  in  some  places  marshy.  The  soil  is  gravelly,  with 
a  light  covering  of  moul<l,  producing  a  short  grass,  scarcely  ade<piatc  for 
the  suppiTTt  of  the  flocks,  which  are  indee<l  of  small  size,  but  son>etimea 
flat  and  gcxwl.  A  great  number  of  large  beautiful  waterfowl,  including 
the  scarlet  flamingo  and  several  varieties  of  snipe,  frequent  the  banks  of 
the  lake  and  marwliy  places.  The  p'ople  cut  their  supply  of  fuel  from 
the  turf  of  tlie  b<>g>,  in  the  dry,  and  stack  it  up  for  u>-e  in  the  rainy 
season.     There  is  said  to  be  much  thunder  and  lightning  here  at  the 


A    TAMBO.  95 

commencement  of  the  rainy  season,  (about  the  first  of  October,)  and 
the  lio-htning  frequently  falls  on  a  hill  about  four  miles  to  the  eastward 
of  the  town,  where  the  inhabitants  say  there  is  much  loadstone.  The 
plain  is  about  thirteen  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  It  has 
a  gentle  slope  downwards  from  west  to  east.  I  found  the  difference  in 
elevation  (by  temperature  of  boiling  water)  between  the  villages  of  Junin 
and  Ninaccaca  (the  latter  about  twenty  miles  to  the  west  of  the  former) 
to  be  four  hundred  and  forty-five  feet. 

The  road  onward  from  Junin  runs  not  far  from  the  banks  of  the  lake. 
On  the  left  we  had  the  grand  snow-covered  domes  and  pinnacles  of  the 
Western  Cordillera  sleeping  in  the  sunlight,  while  clouds  and  storm 
enveloped  the  Eastern.  About  2  p.  m.,  a  breeze  from  the  northward 
brought  some  of  the  storm  down  upon  us.  It  snowed  fast ;  the  flakes 
•were  small  and  round,  like  hail,  but  soft  and  white.  The  thermometer, 
which  was  54  at  the  commencement  of  the  storm,  fell,  during  its 
continuance  of  ten  minutes,  to  46.  "We  found  an  overcoat  very  com- 
fortable. 

About  fifteen  miles  from  Junin  we  passed  the  village  of  Carhuamayo. 
Here  I  saw  the  only  really  pretty  face  I  have  met  with  in  the  Sierra, 
and  bought  a  glass  of  pisco  from  it.  The  road  between  Junin  and  Car- 
huamayo is  a  broad  and  elevated  one,  built  of  stones  and  earth  by  the 
Spaniards.  Without  this  the  plain  would  be  impassable  in  the  rainy 
season.     Six  miles  further  we  stopped  at  the  tambo  of  Ninaccaca. 

July  4. — The  village  of  Ninaccaca,  of  two  or  three  hundred  inhabit- 
ants, lies  off"  to  the  right  of  the  road,  on  which  the  tambo  is  situated, 
about  half  a  mile.  I  would  have  gone  there,  but  I  was  desirous  of 
sleeping  in  a  tambo,  for  the  purpose  of  testing  the  accounts  of  other 
travellers  who  complain  so  bitterly  of  them.  We  Avere  fortunate 
enough  to  have  the  tambo  to  ourselves,  there  being  no  other  travellers ; 
and  I  had  quite  as  comfortable  a  time  as  in  the  alcalde's  house  at  Pal- 
camayo,  or  in  that  of  the  governor  of  Junin.  My  bed  is  generally 
made  on  the  baggage  in  the  middle  of  the  floor;  while  Ijm-ra  takes  to 
the  mud  standing  bed-places  which  are  to  be  found  in  every  house. 
Last  night  I  woke  up,  and  finding  him  very  uneasy,  I  asked  "  if  he  had 
fleas  up  there."  He  replied,  with  the  utmost  sang-froid,  and  as  if  he 
•were  discussing  some  abstract  philosophical  question  with  which  he  had 
no  personal  concern  whatever,  that  "  this  country  was  too  cold  for  fleas, 
but  that  his  bed-place  was  full  of  lice."  It  made  my  blood  run  cold; 
but  long  before  I  got  out  of  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon  I  was  eflfectually 
cured  of  fastidiousness  upon  this  or  any  similar  subject. 

We  were  somewhat  annoyed  by  the  attentions  of  the  master  of  tha 


96  PASCO. 

house,  who  was  very  drunk.  His  wife  told  us  next  morning  that  he 
came  near  killing  her  with  his  knife,  and  would  infalliMy  have  beaten 
her,  but  that  she  told  him  "  those  strangers  were  soldiers,  an^  would 
shoot  him  if  he  did."  Her  naive  way  of  telling  how  she  managed  the 
man,  and  got  off  from  the  beating,  was  quite  amusing.  The  accent  of 
these  people  is  a  sort  of  sliding  drawl  that  makes  every  voice  alike. 
They  use  an  imperfect  Quichna  or  Inca  language,  which  I  am  told  is 
only  spoken  perfectly  in  the  neighborhood  of  Cuzco. 

Our  route  now  ap})roached  the  Western  Cordillera  fast.  About  three 
miles  from  the  tambo  the  plain  began  to  be  broken  into  rolling  hills. 
The  direction  of  the  road,  which  had  been  W.  N.  W.,  changed  to 
N.  W.  by  N.,  and  crossed  them.  After  crossing  a  range  we  stopped  to 
breakfjist  at  a  collection  of  a  few  huts,  where  I  was  amused  at  an 
instance  of  the  apathy  of  the  people.  A  very  common  reply  to  the 
inquiry  of  the  traveller  if  he  can  have  such  and  such  things,  is  ^hnanam 
cancha,''''  (there  is  none  ;  we  haven't  it )  We  rude  up  to  the  door  of  a 
hut,  the  mistress  of  which  was  sitting  "knitting  in  the  sun"  at  the  back 
of  it.  She  heard  our  horses'  tread,  and  too  lazy  to  change  her  position, 
without  seeing  us  or  ascertaining  if  we  wanted  anything,  she  screamed 
out  "manam  cancha."  Ijurra  abutted  her  terribly;  and  we  had  our 
water  boiled  (which  was  all  we  wanted)  at  another  hut  The  Viuda 
pass  of  the  Cordillera,  which  is  generally  crossed  by  travellers  between 
Lima  and  Cerro  I'asco,  was  in  view  from  this  place,  bearing  S.  30'^  W. 
Immediately  after  starting,  we  began  passing  haciendas  for  the  grinding 
of  ores  and  getting  out  silver.  They  are  situated  on  small  streams  that 
come  from  either  the  Eastern  or  Western  Cordillera,  and  that  find  their 
way  into  Lake  Chinehaycocha.  They  all  seem  dry  at  this  season; 
and  none  of  the  haciendas  are  at  work.  Passed  the  old  village  of 
Pasco.  This  was  once  the  great  mining  station,  but,  since  the  discovery 
of  the  mines  at  the  Cerro,  it  is  falling  into  decay.  Three  miles  from  this 
the  country  becomes  more  hilly  and  rt>cky,  losing  the  character  of 
Parapa.  The  passage  of  a  low,  but  abrupt  chain  of  hills,  brings  the 
traveller  in  view  of  Cerro  Pasco.  The  view  from  this  point  is  a  most 
extraordinary  one.  I  can  compare  it  to  nothing  so  fitly  as  the  looking 
from  the  broken  and  rugged  edges  of  a  volcano  into  the  crater  beneath. 
The  traveller  sees  small  housei*,  built,  without  regard  to  regularity,  on 
small  hills,  with  mounds  of  earth  and  deep  cavities  in  their  very  midst; 
and  mud  chimneys  of  ancient  furnaces,  contrasting  strikingly  with  the 
more  graceful  funnel  of  the  moclcrn  steam  engine;  the  huge  cross 
erected  on  the  hill  of  Sta.  Catalina,  near  the  middle  of  the  city,  which 
his  fancy  may  suppose  placed  there  to  g\iard,  with  ita  holy  presence, 


ax  \^A''^. 


CERRO    DE    PASCO.  97 

the  untold  treasures  beneath ;  two  beautiful  little  lakes,  only  divided 
by  a  wide  causeway  at  the  southern  extremity  of  the  crater,  and  another 
embedded  among  the  hills  to  the  westward  ;  hills  (on  one  of  which  he 
stands)  of  five  hundred  feet  in  height,  with  bold  white  heads  of  rock, 
surrounding  these  ;  and  the  magnificent  Cordillera  from  the  right  and 
left  overlooking  the  whole. 

These  are  the  objects  that  strike  the  eye  of  the  traveller  at  his  first 
view.  As  he  rides  down  the  hill,  he  sees  the  earth  open  everywhere 
with  the  mouths  of  mines  now  abandoned ;  he  is  astonished  at  their 
number,  and  feels  a  sense  of  insecurity  as  if  the  whole  might  cave  in  at 
once  and  bury  him  quick.  He  rides  into  the  narrow,  ill-paved  streets 
of  the  city,  and,  if  he  can  divert  his  attention  for  a  moment  from  the 
watching  of  his  horse's  footsteps,  he  will  observe  the  motliest  population 
to  be  met  with  anywhere  out  of  the  dominions  of  the  Sultan.  I  believe 
that  he  may  see,  in  a  single  ride  through  the  city,  men  of  all  nations, 
and  of  almost  every  condition ;  and  if  he  don't  see  plenty  of  drunken 
people,  it  will  be  a  marvel. 

I  was  delighted  when  we  turned  into  the  patio  of  the  house  of  the 
sub-prefect  of  the  province,  Don  Jose  Mier  y  Teran,  and  escaped  the 
rude  stare  and  drunken  impertinence  of  the  Indians,  thronging  the 
streets,  and  doors  of  the  grog-shops.  This  gentleman,  whose  kindness 
we  had  experienced  at  Tarma,  gave  us  quarters  in  his  house,  and  pressed 
us  to  make  ourselves  at  home,  to  which  his  blunt,  abrupt,  and  evidently 
sincere  manners  particularly  invited. 

After  a  wash,  to  which  the  coldness  of  the  weather  and  the  w^ater  by 
no  means  invited,  I  put  on  my  uniform  in  honor  of  the  day,  and  went 
out  to  see  Mr.  Jump,  director  of  the  machinery,  and  Mr,  Fletcher,  an 
employe  of  the  Gremio,  (Board  of  Miners,)  to  whom  I  brought  letters 
of  introduction  from  Lima.  These  gentlemen  received  me  with  great 
cordiality.  Mr,  Jump  offered  me  a  room  in  his  house,  and  Mr,  Fletcher 
handed  me  a  number  of  letters  from  friends  at  home,  at  Lima,  and  at 
Santiago,  These  letters  were  cordial  medicines  to  me  ;  I  had  arrived 
cold,  sick,  and  dispirited,  and  but  for  them  should  have  passed  the  first 
night  of  mental  and  physical  suffering  that  I  had  been  called  upon  to 
endure  since  leaving  Lima. 

July  6. — Rain  nearly  all  night ;  I  was  cold  and  sick,  and  sat  by  the 
fire  all  day,  trying  to  keep  myself  warm.  The  houses  in  Cerro  Pasco 
are  generally  built  of  stones  and  mud,  and  covered  in  with  tiles  or  straw ; 
most  of  them  have  grates,  with  mud  chimneys,  and  are  plentifully  sup- 
plied with  good  coal,  both  bituminous  and  hard.  Mier  says  that  if  the 
7 


9S  CERRO    DE    PASCO. 

place  owes  nothing  else  to  the  Pasco  Perunan  Company,  it  owes  it  (at 
least)  a  debt  of  gratitiule  for  the  introduction  of  the  grates.  I  found, 
however,  very  little  comfort  in  them ;  for  the  houses  are  so  open  libout 
the  doors  and  windows,  that  while  ray  toes  were  burning,  my  back  was 
freezing;  and  one  has  to  bo  constantly  twisting  round,  like  a  roasting 
turkey,  to  get  anything  of  their  benefit.  My  companion,  Ijurra,  whose 
fathers  Avere  rich  miners  and  powerful  men  in  these  parts,  had  many 
vibitors.  Tlic  talk  of  the  company  was  of  nothing  but  the  mines,  and 
incessant  was  the  complaining  (which  I  have  heard  elsewhere)  of  the 
miseries  and  uncertainties  of  the  miner's  life.  All  seem  to  agree  that  it 
is  a  sort  of  gambling,  in  which  most  lose ;  but  there  is  the  same  sort  of 
feverish  infatuation  in  it  that  there  is  in  gaming  with  cards,  and  the 
unlucky  player  cannot  but  persevere,  in  the  hope  that  the  luck  will 
chano-e,  and  that  the  hoya  (striking  the  rich  vein,)  like  "  the  bullets  and 
bragger  oldest,"  will  come  at  last. 

I  went  out  with  Mr.  Jump  to  look  at  the  town.  It  was  a  most  curious 
looking  place,  entirely  honey-combed,  and  hanng  the  mouths  of  mines 
(some  two  or  three  yards  in  diameter)  gaping  everywhere.  From  the 
top  of  the  hill  called  Sta.  Catalina,  the  best  view  is  obtained  of  the 
whole.  Vast  pits,  called  "  TVyos,"  surround  this  hill,  from  which  many 
millions  of  silver  have  been  taken ;  and  the  miners  are  still  burrowing, 
like  so  many  rabbits,  in  their  bottoms  and  sides.  I  estimate  that  the  tajo 
of  Sta.  Rosa  is  six  hundred  yards  long,  by  four  hundred  broad  and  sixty 

deep;  those  of  the  '■^  Descnbridora^^  and are  about  half  as  largo. 

The  hill  of  Sta.  Catalina  is  penetrated  in  every  direction ;  and  I  should 
not  be  surprised  if  it  were  to  cave  in  any  day,  and  bury  many  in  its  niins. 
The  falling  in  of  mines  is  of  frequent  occurrence;  that  oi  "  ^fata-ffcntc" 
(kill  people)  caved  in  years  ago,  and  buried  three  hundred  persons ;  and 
four  davs  ago  a  mine  fell  in  and  buried  five:  four  have  been  recovered, 
but  one  is  still  incarcerated,  and  the  people  are  now  hard  at  work  for 
liim.  We  visited  a  machine-shop,  and  the  hacienda  for  grinding  ores 
by  steam,  that  Mr.  Jump  is  erecting  near  the  city.  I  should  think  the 
hacienda  would  be  a  good  s])eculation  ;  for  the  ores,  which  have  now  to 
be  transported  on  the  backs  of  mules  and  llamas  for  a  distance  of  four, 
five,  or  six  miles  to  the  haciendas,  may  be  taken  to  this  by  a  railroad 
in  a  few  minutes;  and  Mr.  Jump  believes  that  he  shall  have  water 
enough  for  his  boilers  all  the  year ;  whereas  the  otlier  haciend.^s  cannot 
grind  for  more  than  three  parts  of  the  year.  The  cost  of  the  machiner}', 
which  is  cast  in  England,  in  parts  equal  to  a  mule-load,  and  transported 
from  Lima  on  the  backs  of  these  animals ;  the  pay  of  machine  and 


THE    CASCAJOS.  99 

engine  drivers ;  the  digging  of  ditches  for  the  supply  of  water ;  fuel ;  and 
all  such  expenses  to  which  the  other  haciendas  are  not  subject,  I  could 
not  well  calculate. 

Mr.  Fletcher,  who  has  lived  a  long  time  in  Cerro  Pasco,  says  that  a 
purchaser  of  the  ores  (making  sure  of  his  "(7i«'as"  or  experiments  on 
the  yield  of  the  ore)  can  count  his  gains  as  easily  and  certainly  as  he 
can  the  dollars  in  his  pocket ;  that  those  men  who  lose  are  either  the 
lazy  and  the  careless,  or  the  speculators  and  lookers  after  rich  ores, 
to  make  a  fortune  at  once.  The  most  common  and  easily  obtained 
ores  here  are  called  "  cascajos.''^  They  do  not  require  roasting,  as  do  the 
ores  at  Parac;  but  otherwise  the  silver  is  got  out  in  the  same  manner 
as  I  have  described  it  to  be  at  that  place.  Instead,  however,  of  the 
ground  ore  being  placed  in  small  p'les,  and,  after  being  mixed  with  salt 
and  mercury,  trodden  with  the  feet,  and  worked  with  hoes  as  it  is  at 
Parac,  a  large  quantity  is  placed  in  a  circular  enclosiu-e,  with  a  stone 
floor  and  mud  wall,  and  it  is  trodden  with  horses  (as  we  used  in  old 
times  to  "tread  wheat"  in  Virginia)  until  the  amalgamation  is  com- 
pleted. The  general  yield  of  the  cascajos  is  six  marks  to  the  caxon. 
Their  cost,  according  to  the  hardness  of  the  rock  in  which  they  are 
enclosed,  or  their  distance  from  the  surface,  is  from  six  to  sixteen  dollars. 
Here  is  a  calculation  to  show  that,  even  at  their  highest  price,  of  sixteen 
dollars,  (being  assured  by  the  guia  that  the  caxon  will  yield  six  marks,) 
their  working,  or  benificiation,  as  it  is  called  here,  will  pay.  The  com- 
plete amalgamation  in  the  "  circo^''  or  circle,  requires  from  forty  to  fifty 
days. 

Dr.  Circo  of  six  caxones,  a  816  caxon     -         -         -         -$9600 
150  mule  loads,  (transportation  to  the  hacienda,)  a  25 

cents _... 

Grinding,  a  SlO -         - 

Magistral,  (calcined  iron  pyrites,)  1  arroba      .         -         - 
40  arrobas  of  salt,  a  50  cents     -         -         -         -         - 

5  tramplings  by  horses,  a  85  - 

Working  and  washing  the  amalgam       .         -         -        - 
Loss  of  35  lbs.  quicksilver,  a  81    - 

286  GO 
Cr.  6  caxones,  at  6  marks  caxon,  36  marks.     (Mark  is  worth 

in  Cerro  Pasco  88  50) 306  00 


37 

50 

60 

00 

1 

00 

20 

00 

25 

00 

11 

50 

35 

00 

100  DUTIES    OX    SILVER. 

I  had  this  statement  from  Mr.  Jump.  I  did  not  examine  it  at  the 
time,  but  I  observed  afterwards  tliat  tliere  is  no  charge  for  driving  oft' 
the  mercury  of  the  amalgam,  and  leaving  the  pure  silver,  which  is 
worth  eiglit  dollars  and  fifty  cents  the  mark.  This  would  amount  to 
six  dollars  more,  leaving  the  profit  to  the  purchaser,  for  the  two  months 
that  he  has  been  engaged  in  getting  his  silver,  but  fourteen  dollars. 
This,  of  course,  is  but  a  poor  business ;  for,  though  any  quantity  of  the 
ore  may  be  purchased,  there  are  not  haciendas  enough  to  grind,  or  circos 
to  amalgamate,  a  sufficient  quantity  to  make  the  speculation  good  ;  and 
thus  many  millions  of  this  ore  are  left  unworked.  The  ore,  however, 
rarely  costs  sixteen  dollars,  and  will  frequently  give  seven  or  eight 
marks  to  the  caxon. 

Statement  showing  the  cost  of  a  mark  of  silver  placed  on  board  ship 
for  exportation : 

Cost  of  a  mark  of  pina  in  the  Cerro     -         -        -         -         -  *8  50 
Impost  for  steam  machines  for  pumping  water  from  the  mines. 

(This  has  been  12^  cents,  and  soon  will  be  50  cents)  -         -         25 

Socabon  (or  great  drain)  duty 12:^ 

Public  works 6^ 

Government  or  export  duty 50 

Mineral  tribunal  duty 12^ 

Lc.ss  in  running  the  piiia  into  bars 12+ 

Carriage  to  Lima,  and  other  petty  expenses  -         -         -         -  G:^ 

Profit  of  the  purchaser  in  the  Cerro 37^ 

10   12^ 


Twelve  dwts.  is  the  standard  of  pure  silver  in  the  mint  at  Lima.  All 
the  bars  that  go  from  this  place  are  marked  11.22.  They  are  a-^ayed 
in  Lima.  If  they  come  up  to  that  standard  they  are  worth  $8.0746  the 
mark.  For  ever)'  grain  under  this  11.22  there  is  a  deduction  in  the 
price  of  .0303  of  a  dollar. 

To  day  there  was  a  meeting  of  the  gremio,  to  take  into  consideration 
a  question  that  had  arisen  whether  the  contractors  for  putting  up  the 
steam  machinery  for  draining  the  mines  had  fulfilled  their  part  of  the 
contract,  A  short  history  of  the  draining  of  these  mine-s  may  not  be 
uninteresting,  and  will  at  all  events  put  jK-rsons  on  their  guard  how  they 
make  cotitracLs  with  miners. 

Tlie  mines  of  Cerro  Pjisco  were  discovered  in  10.30,  by  an  Indian 
making  a  fire  on  some  stones  and  observing  melted  silver.  They  were 
Worked,  with  little  or  no  drainage,  and  with  groat  success,  up  to  the 


DRAINAGE    OF    THE    MINES.  101 

year  1780,  when  the  socabon  (or  drain)  of  San  Judas  was  commenced. 
This  is  a  great  ditch  of  five  and  a  half  feet  in  breadth  and  six  feet  ten 
inches  in  height,  which  drains  the  mines  into  the  lake  of  San  Judas. 
Its  length  is  about  thirty-five  hundred  feet,  and  it  cost  one  hundred 
thousand  dollars.  It  was  finished  in  1800.  This  would  drain,  bv 
percolation,  all  the  mines  above  it.  For  those  below  it,  it  was  necessary 
to  pump  the  water  up  by  hand.  This  was  found  so  inefficient  a  means, 
(the  socabon  also  not  being  sufficiently  large,)  that  in  1806  the  gremio 
commenced  the  construction  of  the  socabon  of  Quiulacocha,  eighty- 
eight  feet  below  that  of  San  Judas,  six  feet  ten  inches  broad,  and  eight 
feet  three  inches  high.  The  work  is  continued  upon  it  to  this  day. 
The  part  that  I  saw  is  arched,  well  walled  with  solid  masonry,  and  the 
water  rushes  through  it  like  a  small  river.  Many  lumbreras,  or  light 
holes,  are  sunk  down  upon  it  in  various  directions  to  give  light  and  air, 
and  to  carry  into  the  socabon  the  drainage  of  the  neigliborino-  mines. 

In  1816,  the  gremio  contracted  with  two  Spaniards,  Abadia  and 
Arismendi,  for  the  drainage  of  the  mines  by  steam  machinery.  These 
persons  put  up  three  steam  machines  for  working  pumps,  and  the  results 
were  very  happy,  the  ores  being  found  much  richer  the  farther  down  the 
mines  reached.  The  war  of  independence  broke  them  up ;  their  miners 
being  taken  away  for  soldiers,  and  their  machines  used  up  for  horse-shoes. 

In  1825,  an  English  company,  styling  itself  the  ^^  Pasco  Peruvian,'^ 
undertook  the  drainage.  This  company  contracted  to  be  paid  in  ores, 
which  they  w-ere  to  beneficiate  themselves.  They  were  never  fairly  paid. 
They  employed  English  officials  and  operatives  at  high  salaries;  and 
after  having  dug  one  hundred  and  ten  feet,  at  a  cost  of  forty  thousand 
dollars,  between  September,  1825,  and  January,  1827,  they  failed.  The 
government  then  took  it  up,  and  gave  two  thousand  dollars  monthly 
towards  the  work,  the  miners  also  taxing  themselves  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  on  the  mark  of  silver  obtained.  Rivero  took  charge  of  the  work, 
and  from  the  first  of  June,  1827,  to  the  first  of  January,  1828,  he  per- 
forated one  hundred  and  twenty-two  feet  in  the  socabon,  the  workmen 
finding  powder  and  candles,  and  he  supplying  tools.  In  an  official  state- 
ment, afterwards  made  by  Rivero,  he  shows  that  to  excavate  a  vara  cost 
him  eighty-six  dollars,  while  it  cost  the  Pasco  Peruvian  Company  one 
thousand  dollars ;  though  he  says  that  in  the  lumbrera  of  Sta.  Rosa  the 
Pasco  Peruvian  Company  found  the  rock  so  hard  that  twelve  men  could 
not  perforate  more  than  half  a  vara  a  month.  The  socabon  at  present 
is  eight  thousand  two  hundred  and  fifty  feet  long,  and  three  hundred 
feet  below  the  surface.  About  a  million  of  dollars  have  been  spent  upon 
it,  though  it  is  said  it  has  not  really  cost  so  much. 


102  DRAINAGE    OF    THE    MINES. 

A  few  years  ago  it  was  determined  to  try  steam  again,  for  the  pur- 
pose of  carrying  on  the  mining  below  the  great  drain,  and  the  gremio 
contracted  witli  Mr,  Junij^  to  undertake  it.  He  bound  liimself  to  ,iut  up 
four  sets  of  engines,  to  work  those  engines  for  a  year  at  his  own  expense, 
and  then  turn  them  over  to  the  gremio;  the  gremio,  on  the  other  hand, 
binding  itself  to  sink  the  shafts  and  to  pay  weekly  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  on  every  mark  of  silver  produced  by  the  mines  for  a  certain  length 
of  time,  then  twenty-five,  and  then  fifty  cents,  till  six  hundred  thousand 
dollars  were  paid. 

The  work  is  carried  on  witli  unexampled  despatch  on  the  part  of  Mr. 
Jump,  so  that  now  two  sets  of  engines  are  at  work,  a  third  is  going  up, 
and  the  fourth  has  arrived  from  England,  though  the  shaft  is  not  yet 
ready  for  it.  But  there  are  two  parties  in  the  gremio,  representing 
distinct  interests.  One  party,  of  which  General  Bermudez  (at  the  time 
of  making  the  contract  prefect  of  the  department  and  ex-oliicio  president 
of  the  gremio)  is  the  leader,  represents  the  speculative  men,  who  look 
for  "  boyas,"  and  think  that  great  and  sudden  riches  are  to  be  had  by 
draining  the  mines  below  the  socabon.  The  other  party  (and  the 
majority)  represents  the  men  who,  content  with  moderate  and  certain 
gain,  work  the  cascajos  which  arc  generally  above  the  drain,  and  there- 
fore need  no  machinery.  These  men  were  probably  borne  down  by 
the  influence  of  Bermudez  during  his  prefecture,  and  a  majority  was 
obtained  for  the  contract;  but  since  his  retirement  they  rise  up  and  say, 
"  It  is  a  hard  case  that  wc  should  contribute  to  pay  for  machines  tliat 
do  us  no  good ;"  and  they  seek  for  means  to  avoid  this.  Tliey  find  it  in 
the  wording  of  the  contract;  and  although  they  see  that  the  machines 
are  doing,  and  more  than  doing,  the  work  required,  they  take  advantage 
of  the  wording,  and  raise  the  question  now  \mder  consideration.  The 
words  of  the  contract  are,  that  "he,  the  contractor,  shall  bind  himself  to 
put  up  four  sets  of  engines,  each  set  to  consist  of  two  engines  of  fifteen- 
liorse  power  each,  and  to  drive  three  pum]i;i ;  each  engine  to  bo  entirely 
independent  of  the  other  in  such  a  manner  that,  if  an  accident  hn^^pen 
to  one  engine,  the  other  shall  be  able  to  diive  two  pumps." 

I  thou;,dit,  from  examination  of  the  engines,  that  a  case  might  <K(^ur 
whereby  the  wording  of  the  contract  would  fail  to  be  fulfilled;  but  it 
seemed  to  me  that  this  arose  from  tlie  nature  of  the  contract,  and  was 
not  at  all  chargeable  on  Mr,  Jump;  for  it  appears  to  mo  that,  for  two 
engines  to  drive  three  pumps,  and  in  such  a  manner  that  if  one  breaks 
the  otljer  may  drive  two,  it  is  necessary  t«)  have  a  contiexion  between 
those  engines,  which  connexion  breaking,  although  either  engine  may 
be  intact  and  able  to  drive  its  own  pump,  (thus  keeping  two  pumps 


THE    SMELTING    HOUSE.  103 

going,)  yet  the  engines  must  stop  to  repair  the  connexion,  so  as  to 
drive  all  three  again.  That  the  pretended  objection  is  a  quibble,  may 
be  seen  from  the  fact  that  the  engines  keep  the  shafts  clear  with 
only  two  pumps,  and  do  not  work  the  third ;  but  I  suspect  that  news 
recently  received  from  Lima  of  the  discovery  of  largo  quicksilver  mines 
in  California,  which  would  bring  down  the  price  of  that  article  one-half, 
and  double  the  value  of  the  cascajos,  (thus  still  diminishing  the  necessity 
for  drainage,)  had  something  to  do  with  the  movement.  A  committee 
of  the  gremio,  appointed  for  the  investigation  of  the  matter,  did  report 
in  favor  of  stoj^ping  the  payments ;  but  before  this  was  decided  upon, 
some  rich  ores  were  discovered  by  the  operation  of  the  pumps.  This 
changed  their  tune,  for,  although  they  now  only  work  the  ores  above  the 
socabon,  they  may,  if  they  choose,  penetrate  below  it;  and  if  these 
machines  should  show  conclusively  that  there  are  richer  ores  below, 
they  of  course  would  be  glad  to  have  them,  and  the  gremio,  therefore, 
(including  even  some  of  the  members  of  the  committee,)  voted  that  the 
works  and  the  payments  should  continue,  and  the  matter  should  be 
arbitrated.  I  of  course  get  my  knowledge  and  views  pretty  much  from 
Mr.  Jump,  one  of  the  parties ;  but  I  meet  at  his  house  and  elsewhere 
with  men  of  the  opposite  party,  and  hear  the  matter  very  fully  discussed. 
I  would  have  advised  Mr.  Jump,  in  any  other  country,  to  reject  arbitra- 
tion and  appeal  to  the  law;  but  the  less  a  man  has  to  do  with  law  in 
this  country  the  better,  not  so  much  on  account  of  its  ill  administration 
as  of  its  vexatious  delay. 

I  removed  from  the  sub-prefect's  house  to  that  of  Mr.  Jump,  Ijurra 
staying  with  his  relations,  and  Mauricio  and  the  mules  at  board. 

The  '■'■  callana^''  or  smelting-house,  where  the  "piiia"  is  run  into  bars, 
is  a  government  establishment,  and  is  farmed  out.  All  the  produce  of 
the  mines  has  to  pass  through  it;  is  here  run  into  bars,  weighed, 
stamped,  and  the  duties  charged  upon  it.  It  is  very  rude  in  its  ap- 
pointments, a  mere  straw-covered  hut,  with  an  iron  smeltir^  pot  in  the 
middle,  mounted  by  arms,  on  two  iron  uprights  like  anvils.  The  pot 
melts  at  one  operation  sufficient  silver  to  make  a  bar  of  two  hundred 
and  fifty  marks,  or  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  pounds.  Alternate 
layers  of  piiia  and  charcoal  are  put  in  the  smelting  pot ;  fire  is  applied, 
and  air  furnished  by  a  rude  bellows.  When  the  silver  is  melted,  the 
pot  is  turned  on  its  arms,  and  the  silver  poured  out  of  a  sort  of  ear  at 
the  top  of  the  pot  into  an  iron  mould  below.  From  one  and  a  half  to 
one  and  three-fourths  per  cent,  is  lost  in  this  operation ;  much  seems  to 
be  driven  off  by  the  irregular  and  excessive  heat,  and  the  sides  and  roof 
of  the  hut  are  covered  with  a  deposit  of  fine  particles  of  silver,  looking 


104  QUICKSILVER. 

like  frost.  They  are  freq«ently  swept ;  I  did  not  think  to  ask  to  whom 
these  sweepings  belong,  but  I  imagine  to  the  farmers  of  the  "callana." 
The  bars  are  marked  with  the  number  of  the  bar  for  the  year,  the  num- 
ber of  marks  it  contains,  the  initials  of  the  owner,  and  the  invariable 
11.22,  which  designates  its  "ley"  or  quality. 

Remittances  of  bars  are  made  to  Lima  every  week.  Last  week  the 
remittance  amounted  to  seven  thousand  five  hundred  marks — a  large 
yield.  Since  my  return,  I  cut  from  a  Lima  paper  a  letter  from  Cerro 
Pasco,  of  April,  1851,  (a  few  months  before  the  date  of  my  visit,)  in 
which  the  writer  states  the  remittances  for  the  week  at  eighteen  bars,  or 
four  thousand  five  hundred  marks.  He  says,  "The  drainage  by  steam  is 
progressing  rapidly.  Another  vein  of  ore  has  been  discovered  in  the 
mine  of  Pena  Blanca,  but  I  believe  not  very  rich.  The  adnces  from 
Lima  are  constant  that  the  quicksilver  mines  of  California  will  yield  a 
suflScient  supply  for  Peru,  at  a  price  not  exceeding  fifty  or  sixty  dollars 
the  ^ quintal,^  (or  hundred  pounds.)  Should  this  be  the  case,  there  will 
be  no  need  of  suspending  the  working  of  the  cascajos,  as  ore  of  six 
marks  to  the  caxon,  with  quicksilver  at  seventy  dollars  the  quintal,  and 
pina  at  eight  dollars  the  mark,  will  leave  fifty  dollars  of  profit  in  the 
circo.  The  price  of  quicksilver  at  present  is  from  one  hundred  to  one 
hundred  and  seven  dollars  the  quintal ;  that  of  pina,  eight  dollars  and 
forty-three  and  three-fourth  cents." 

The  yield  of  these  mines  is  about  two  millions  a  year,  which  is  nearly 
equal  to  the  yield  of  all  the  rest  of  the  mines  of  Peru  together. 

M.  Gtstelnau  makes  a  calculation  from  all  the  data  within  his  reacli, 
by  which  it  appears  that  the  yield  of  the  mines  of  Cerro  Pasco,  since 
the  date  of  their  discovery  in  1630  to  the  year  1849,  amounts  to  about 
the  sum  of  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  millions  of  dollars,  which 
would  give  a  yearly  mean  of  about  two  millions  one  hundred  and 
seventy  thousand. 

About  two  hundred  miles  to  the  southward  and  eastward  of  Cerro 
Pa.sco  are  situated  the  celebrated  quicksilver  mines  of  Jluaticavclica. 
The  viceroys  of  the  regal  and  the  presidents  of  the  republicjin  gov- 
ernment have  made  many  efforts  to  keep  up  the  working  of  these 
mines,  })ut  of  late  years  entirely  without  success.  M.  Castelnati 
states  that  their  produce  since  the  opening  in  1751  to  tlie  year 
1789,  inclusive,  (since  which  time  they  have  yielded  nothing  of 
importance,)  has  been  one  million  forty  thousand  four  hundred  and 
fifty-two  quintals,  which,  at  a  mean  price  of  sixty-five  dollars  the 
quintal,  will  give  the  sum  of  sixty-seven  million  six  hundred  and 
twenty-nine  thousand  three  hundred  and  eiglity  dollars.     In  the  same 


THE    MIXES.  105 

time  have  beftn  expended  on  them  ten  million  five  hundred  and  eighty- 
seven  thousand  eight  hundred  and  forty-five  dollars. 

S.  S.  Rivero  and  Pierola  formed  a  society  in  the  year  1828  for  the 
working  of  these  mines,  but  the  scheme  fell  through.  Many  other  prop- 
ositions have  been  also  made  to  the  Peruvian  government,  since  the 
independence,  for  the  working  of  them,  but  have  failed  of  success.  The 
liberator  (Bolivar)  refused  to  sell  them  for  a  sum  of  six  or  seven  hun- 
dred thousand  dollars.     (Castelnau,  vol.  4,  pag6  226.) 

T  met  a  gentleman  in  Cerro  Pasco  who  was  then  on  his  way  to  ex- 
amine and  report  upon  the  mines  of  Huancavelica. 

July  8. — Visited  the  mines.  We  entered  a  mouth  which  seemed 
only  a  little  larger  than  that  of  a  common  well ;  each  of  the  party 
furnished  with  a  tallow  candle,  shipped  in  an  iron  contrivance  at  the  end 
of  a  staff.  The  descent  was  disagreeable,  and,  to  the  tyro,  seemed  dan- 
gerous; it  was  at  an  angle  of  at  least  75°  from  the  horizontal  line.  The 
earth  was  moist,  and  the  steps  merely  holes  dug  for  the  heels  at  irregu- 
lar distances.  I  feared  every  moment  that  my  boot-heel  would  slip,  and 
that  I  should  "come  with  a  surge"  upon  my  next  in  advance,  sending 
him  and  myself  into  some  gulf  profound.  I  was  heartily  glad  when  we 
got  upon  the  apparently  level  and  broad  bank  of  the  great  socabon, 
and  had  made  up  my  mind  that  I  would  tempt  Providence  no  more. 
But,  reflecting  that  I  should  never,  probably,  visit  the  mines  of  Cerro 
Pasco  again,  I  took  coiu-age  and  descended  one  hundred  and  ten  feet 
further,  by  an  even  worse  descent  than  the  former,  to  the  bottom  of  the 
pump  shafts.  A  burly  and  muscular  Cornishman,  whom  I  at  first  took 
to  be  a  yankee,  with  a  bit  of  candle  stuck  into  a  lump  of  mud  in  front  of 
his  hat,  was  superintending  here,  and  growling  at  the  laziness  and  ineflB- 
ciency  of  his  Indian  subordinates.  I  should  think  that  these  pumps 
were  not  well  attended  to,  so  far  from  the  eye  of  the  master.  They  are 
worked  by  chains  and  long  copper  rods.  All  the  metal  work  of  the 
pumps  is  of  copper.  Iron  is  corroded  very  quickly,  on  account  of  the 
sulphuric  acid  and  sulphates  which  the  water  of  the  mines  holds  in  so- 
lution. The  fish  are  said  to  have  abandoned  the  lake  of  Quiulacocha, 
into  which  the  waters  are  forced,  on  this  account.  The  sides  of  the 
mines  were  covered  in  many  places  with  beautiful  sulphates  of  iron  and 
copper. 

Our  exploration  lasted  about  four  hours ;  and  we  emerged  at  the  tajo 
of  Sta.  Rosa,  where,  seated  upon  piles  of  silver  ore,  we  partook  of  some 
bread  and  cheese,  and  a  glass  of  pisco,  which  we  found  as  welcome  and 
as  grateful  as  manna  in  the  desert.  This  freshened  us  up,  and  we  went 
to  see  the  "  boliches."    These  are  hand-mills,  or  rather  foot-mills,  for 


106  THE   BOLICHES. 

grinding  ore ;  generally  owned  by  Frenchmen  or  Italians,  who  grind  tlie« 
ore  that  is  brought  to  them  in  small  quantities  by  the  workmen  in  the 
mines.  Rivero's  account  of  their  charges  is  amusing.  lie  says  ;  "  One 
of  these  speculators  commences  with  fifty  dulhirs,  (the  value  of  a  bo- 
licho,)  and  at  the  end  of  two  or  three  years  is  known  to  be  worth  a 
fortune  of  eight  or  ten  thousand  dollars.  lie  exacts  from  the  workman 
in  the  mine,  who  brings  it  to  him,  fifty  or  sixty-two  and  a  half  cents  for 
grinding  a  "cnrj/w,"  which  is  a  very  uncertain  measure — sometimes  a  mule- 
load,  sometimes  a  man-load ;  but  in  this  case  a  small  hamper-full.  Ho 
charges  twenty-five  cents  for  the  water  used  in  the  beneficiation,  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  for  the  man  who  pours  the  water  on,  twelve  and  a  half 
cents  for  him  who  breaks  the  ore  into  small  bits  for  grinding,  sixty -two 
and  a  half  cents  for  the  grinder,  twelve  and  a  half  cents  for  the  hole 
where  the  mass  of  ground  metal  is  deposited,  (and  if  this  is  boarded,  he 
exacts  twenty-five  cents  more,)  and  twelve  and  a  half  cents  to  clear  the 
water  out  of  it,  twelve  and  a  half  cents  for  taking  the  metjU  out  of  this 
hole  and  putting  it  in  a  bull's  hide,  for  the  hire  of  which  he  charges 
twenty-five  cents;  so  that  the  hide  will  yield  the  decent  sum  of  sixty  or 
seventy  dollars  before  it  wears  out  and  becomes  useless.  A  hoe  will 
give  as  much  more,  for  the  hire  of  which  twelve  and  a  half  cents  is 
charged,  and  six  and  a  quarter  cents  besides  for  every  time  it  is  used  in 
incorporating  the  mass,  lie  gains  at  least  fifty  cents  in  every  arroba 
of  salt  which  he  furnishes.  For  a  pound  of  magistral,  which  is  worth 
fifty  cents,  lie  exacts  two  dollars.  He  gains  fifty  cents  in  ever}-  pound 
of  quicksilver;  so  that,  calculating  th(;se  expenses  with  regard  to  a 
caxon,  they  amount  to  about  fifty  dollars,  which  is  just  so  mueh  profit 
to  tlie  bolichero.  The  '  relabcs^  moreover,  are  his  ;  and  they  are  fre- 
quently very  valuable.  He  then  expresses  all  the  quicksilver  from  tlio 
jicUa  that  he  can,  and  receives  it  of  the  workman  at  three  pounds  the 
mark,  paying  him  six  dollars  and  twenty-five  cents;  by  which  negotia- 
tion ho  gains  a  mark  in  every  nine,  after  tlio  quicksilver  is  driven  ofi'  by 
heat,  bating  to  the  workman  at  the  same  time  half  a  pound  in  the  ex- 
traction of  the  quicksilver.  The  workman  is  contented  with  all  this, 
becau9e,however  little  profit  ho  makes,  the  ore  which  he  delivered  to  the 
bolichero  for  grinding  cost  him  nothing  but  the  stealing."  This,  how- 
ever, is  not  always  the  cnso.  The  laborer  frecjuently  demands  his  wages 
in  a  portion  of  ore.  Custom  seems  to  give  him  this  right ;  and  the  pro- 
prietor of  the  mine  com])Iains,  with  justice,  tliat  he  has  to  pay  in  ores 
when  thoy  are  rich,  and  in  money  when  the  ores  are  poor. 

A'boliche  consists  of  a  large  flat  stone  laid  on  an  elevated  platform 
of  rock  or  earth,  and  another,  convex  on  its  lower  side,  resting  upon  it. 


THE    MACOLCA.  107 

The  grinder,  standing  upon  this  upper  stone,  spreads  liis  feet  apart,  and 
gives  it  motion  by  the  movement  of  bis  body.  Tlie  bits  of  ore  are 
placed  between  these  stones,  and  a  small  stream  of  water  from  a  barrel 
above  mixes  with  the  harina,  and  carries  it  off  to  a  receptacle  below. 
It  may  be  imagined  that,  to  draw  any  profit  from  so  rude  a  contrivance 
as  this,  it  is  necessary  that  the  ores  ground  by  it  should  be  of  the  richest 
kind. 

The  apparatus  for  driving  off  the  mercury  by  heat  is  as  rude  as  the 
boliche.  The  pella  is  placed  in  a  kind  of  earthen  jar  or  bottle  made  in 
the  neighborhood,  and  worth  from  two  to  three  reals.  An  iron  tube,  of 
about  two  yards  long,  is  introduced  into  the  mouth  of  the  jar,  which  is 
then  closed  with  a  j'ellowish  claj".  Tlie  other  end  of  this  tube  (which 
is  bent)  is  put  into  an  earthen  jar  half-full  of  water,  where  the  fumes  of 
the  mercury  are  condensed.  Fire  is  kindled  around  the  earthen  bottles 
which  contain  the  pella,  and  continued  for  three  or  four  hours,  when  the 
bottles  are  broken  and  the  piiia  taken  out. 

The  man  who  was  buried  by  the  falling  in  of  one  of  the  mines  was 
got  out  yesterday.  He  seemed  strong,  though  he  had  had  no  food  for 
nearly  seven  days.  He  had  lost  the  account  of  time,  and  thought  he 
had  been  enclosed  in  the  earth  but  three  days. 

July  9. — Suffering  to-day  from  an  affection  called  macolca,  which  is 
incident  to  nearly  every  one  on  his  first  visit  to  the  mines.  This  is  a 
painful  soreness  of  the  muscles,  particularly  on  the  front  of  the  thigh. 
I  could  scarcely  bear  that  my  legs  should  be  touched,  and  locomotion 
was  anything  but  agreeable. 

The  town  of  Cerro  Pasco  is  (by  temperature  of  boiling  Avater)  thirteen 
thousand  eight  hundred  and  two  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Rivero 
states  it  at  fourteen  thousand  two  hundred  and  seventy-nine.  The 
population  varies  from  six  to  fifteen  thousand  souls,  according  to  the 
gi-eater  or  less  yield  of  the  mines.  Most  of  the  adult  part  of  this  popu- 
lation are,  of  course,  engaged  in  mining.  This  seems  to  be  a  calling 
that  distorts  much  the  moral  perception,  and  engenders  very  confused 
ideas  of  right  and  wrong.  The  lust  for  money-making  seems  to  have 
swallowed  up  all  the  finer  feelings  of  the  heart,  and  cut  off  all  the 
amenities  of  society.  There  are  no  ladies — at  least  I  saw  none  in 
society ;  and  the  men  meet  to  discuss  the  mines,  the  probable  price  of 
quicksilver,  and  to  slander  and  abuse  each  other.  There  seems  to  be 
no  religion  here  even  in  form.  The  churches  are  mere  barns,  going  to 
decay  ;  and  I  saw  no  processions  or  religious  ceremonies.  Smyth  saw 
a  procession  in  1834,  but  I  should  doubt  if  there  had  been  one  of  these 


108  THE    CLIMATE. 

contemptible  mockeries  since.  Not  that  the  people  are  getting  better, 
but  that  their  love  of  gain  is  swallowing  up  even  their  love  of  display. 
Rivero  speaks  of  the  wretched  condition  of  society,  and  tells  of  drunk- 
enness, gaming,  assassination,  and  bad  faith,  as  of  things  of  common 
occurrence. 

I  met  with  much  kindness  on  the  part  of  the  few  gentlemen  whose 
acquaintance  I  made,  particularly  on  that  of  the  sub-prefect,  w  ho  lodged 
me  in  his  house,  and,  by  his  frank  and  sincere  manner,  made  me 
feel  at  home ;  and  I  do  not  say  that  men  here  are  individually  bad ; 
but  only  speak  of  tlie  philosophical  fact  that  mining,  as  an  occupation, 
has  a  tendency  to  debase  men's  charactei-s,  and  destroy  those  sensibili- 
ties and  aflections  that  smooth  and  soften  the  rugged  path  of  life. 
Moreover,  I  don't  speak  half  so  badly  of  them  as  they  do  of  them- 
selves ;  for  one,  if  he  were  to  seek  it,  might  easily  hear  that  every 
individual  in  the  Cerro  was  a  rascal. 

The  climate  of  this  place  is  exceedingly  uncomfortable,  and  I  should 
suppose  unhealthy.  I  could  not  sleep  between  sheets,  but  preferred 
"the  wollens,"  with  an  abundance  of  them.  Eivcro  states  the  mean 
temperature,  during  the  months  of  July,  August,  and  September,  at 
44°  in  the  day,  and  35°  at  night.  In  these  months  there  is  an  abund- 
ance of  snow  and  hail,  which  lowers  the  thermometer  considerably ; 
and  even  without  these  it  goes  down  to  30°  and  28°  in  August.  From 
the  middle  of  October  to  the  end  of  April  the  climate  is  insupportable 
from  the  rains,  tempests  and  lightnings,  which  almost  every  year  cause 
damage.  There  is  a  period  of  fine  weather  from  the  middle  of  Decem- 
ber to  the  middle  of  January,  called,  in  the  poetic  language  and  reli- 
gious turn  of  thought  of  the  Spaniards,  El  verano  del  niflo,  or  the  sum  • 
mer  of  the  child,  from  its  happening  about  Christm.'us.  The  streams, 
which  are  fed  from  the  rains  of  this  country,  invariably  stop  rising,  and 
fall  a  little  after  tliis  period.  Tlie  temperature  is  so  rigorous  here  that 
the  hens  do  not  hatch,  nor  the  llamas  procreate ;  and  women,  at  tljo 
period  of  their  confinement,  are  obliged  to  sock  a  more  genial  climato, 
or  their  offspring  will  not  live. 

Persons  recently  arrived,  particularly  if  they  have  weak  lungs,  sutTor 
from  affections  of  the  chest  and  diflioulty  of  breathing.  The  miners 
tsutVer  paralysis  from  the  sudden  changes  of  temj^erature  to  which  they 
are  exposed  in  and  out  of  the  mines,  and  from  inhaling  the  fumes  of 
the  mercury  in  tljo  operation  of  distilling.  Tliose  who  suffer  in  this 
way  are  called  azof/ados,  from  o:of/ue,  (ipiicksilver.)  The  most  com- 
mon disea'<es  are   pleurisies,   rheumatisms,  and  a  putrid  fever  called 


INTENDENTE    OF    POZUZU.  109 

tabardiUo.  Pleurisies  are  said  to  be  cured  by  taking  an  infusion  of 
mullaca,  an  herb  which  grows  in  the  neighborhood.  It  has  very  small 
leaves,  and  gives  a  small,  round,  red  fruit. 

There  is  no  cultivation  in  this  neighborhood,  with  the  exception  of  a 
little  barley,  which  gives  no  grain,  but  is  cut  for  fodder.  The  mai-ket, 
however,  is  well  supplied  from  Huanuco,  and  the  neighboring  valleys. 
Expenses  of  living  are  great,  particularly  where  articles  of  luxury  from 
the  coast  are  used. 

Juli/  12. — I  visited  some  of  the  haciendas  for  gi-inding  the  ores. 
These  mills  are  also  rude.  A  horizontal  water-wheel  turns  an  upright 
axis,  which  passes  up  through  a  hole  in  the  centre  of  the  lower  stone. 
The  upper  stone  is  bolted  to  the  side  of  the  axis,  and  is  carried  round 
on  its  edge  upon  the  lower  one.  A  very  small  stream  of  water  trickles 
continually  on  the  stones,  and  carries  off  the  ground  ore  into  a  receptacle 
below,  prepared  for  it,  where  the  water  drains  oft',  and  leaves  tlie  harina 
to  be  carried  to  the  circo.  A  pair  of  stones  will  grind  nearly  a  caxon 
a  day.  A  stone  of  granite,  nine  feet  in  diameter,  and  twenty  inches 
thick,  costs,  <:lelivered,  one  hundred  and  thirty-five  dollars.  It  will  wear 
away  in  six  or  seven  months  so  as  to  be  unfit  for  an  upper  stone ;  it 
then  answers  for  a  lower  one. 

I  had  a  visit  from  an  enthusiastic  old  gentleman,  the  Intendente  of 
Pozuzu,  who  says  that  he  is  about  to  memorialize  Congress  for  funds 
and  assistance  to  carry  on  a  work  which  he  has  himself  commenced — 
that  is,  the  opening  of  a  road  from  the  Cerro  direct  to  Pozuzu,  without 
taking  the  roundabout  way  by  Huanuco.  He  says  that  he  is  prac- 
tically acquainted  with  the  ground ;  that  it  is  nearly  all  pampa,  or  plain ; 
(people  told  us  the  same  thing  of  the  road  between  Tarma  and  Chan- 
chamayo;)  and  that  part  of  it  is  over  a  pajonal,  or  grassy  plain,  w'here 
there  will  be  no  forest  to  clear.  He  says  that  wLon  the  road  is  opened 
from  the  Cerro  to  Pozuzu,  and  thence  to  Mmjro,  (the  head  of  naviga- 
tion on  the  Fackitea,)  communication  may  be  had  and  burdens  carried 
between  the  Cerro  and  Mayro  in  four  days ;  also,  that  roads  may  run  to 
the  southward  from  Pozuzu,  over  a  plain,  by  which  the  commerce  of 
foreign  countries,  coming  up  the  Amazon,  may  reach  Tarma,  Jauxa, 
and  all  the  towns  of  the  Sierra. 

This  is  tlie  day-dream  of  the  Peruvians  of  that  district.  They  know 
the  diflSculties  of  the  Cordillera  passage,  and  look  earnestly  to  the  east- 
ward for  communication  with  the  world.  Though  this  gentleman  is  led 
away  by  his  enthusiasm,  and  probably  misstates,  yet  I  think  he  is  in 
the  main  correct;  for  between  the  Cerro  and  Mayro  there  is  but  one 
range  of  the  Andes  to  pass  to  arrive  at  the  Montana,  (as  is  also  the  case 


110  DEPARTURE    FOR    THE    CERRO. 

between  Tarma  and  Chanclianiayo ;)  whereas,  by  the  route  through 
Huanuco  tliero  are  at  least  two,  and  these  very  broken,  elevated,  and 
rugged.  I  think  that  the  Ucayali  affords  the  best  means  of  coirtrnuni- 
cation  with  the  interior  of  I'eru,  and  my  impression  is  that  it  is  best 
approached  by  the  way  of  Chanchamayo.  I  hinted  this,  but  my  friend 
hooted  at  the  idea ;  and  I  find  the  same  jealousy  in  him  that  I  found  in 
the  Tarma  people.  Both  here  and  there  they  say  it  will  be  a  great  day 
for  them  when  the  Americans  get  near  them  with  a  steamer. 

Jnhj  13. — I  had  luifurtunately  selected  a  feast-day,  and  one,  too,  ou 
which  there  was  a  regular  bull  fight,  (the  first  that  had  been  seen  in  the 
Cerro,)  for  my  departure,  and  found  great  diflBculty  in  getting  oft".  The 
muleteers  I  had  engaged  were  drunk  at  an  early  hour,  and  not  making 
their  appearance,  I  had  to  send  the  police  after  them.  It  is  really 
curious  to  obserA'e  liow  entirely  indifterent  to  the  fulfilment  of  a  promise 
these  people  are,  and  how  very  general  the  vice  is.  These  muleteers 
liad  given  me  the  strongest  assurances  that  they  would  be  at  my  door 
by  daylight,  and  yet  when  they  made  the  promise  they  had  not  the 
slightest  idea  of  keeping  it.  The  habit  seems  to  be  acquiesced  in  and 
borne  with  patience  by  even  the  tioie  and  promise-keejjing  English. 
My  friend,  Mr.  Jump,  did  not  sympathize  in  the  least  with  my  fretful- 
ness,  and  seemed  surprised  that  I  expected  to  get  off. 

I  desire  to  express  my  thanks  to  him,  and  the  amiable  members  of 
his  family,  Mr.  and  Mrs,  Biggs,  for  those  kind  attentions  that  cheer  the 
heart  and  renew  the  energies  of  the  worn  wayfarer. 


MINT  AT  QUINUA.  Ill 


CHAPTER  VI. 

Departure  from  Cerro  Pasco — Mint  at  Quinua — San  Rafael — Ambo— Quicacan — 
Huanuco — Cerro  de  Carpis — Chincliao  valley — Huallaga  river. 

By  cajoling,  and  threats  of  appeal  to  tlie  military,  (a  small  military 
force  is  stationed  here  as  a  police,)  we  got  our  drunken  vagabonds  to 
"load  up"  and  set  off  by  half-past  1  p.  m.  One  of  them  gave  us  the 
slip  at  the  outskirts  of  the  town.  The  other  wished  to  look  him  up, 
or  at  least  to  get  the  key  of  a  tambo  where  two  spare  mules  belonging 
to  them  were  locked  up ;  but  we  would  not  hear  of  it ;  and  driving  the 
loaded  mules  on,  he  was  fain  to  follow.  The  deserter  joined  us  at  our 
stopping-place  for  the  night,  but  on  finding  the  condition  of  things,  he 
had  to  return  to  the  Cerro  for  his  missing  beasts. 

Almost  immediately  on  leaving  the  Cerro,  and  ascending  the  hills 
that  encircled  it  on  the  north,  we  came  in  sight  of  the  Eastern  Andes, 
which  is  here  a  Cordillera,  for  it  has  many  abrupt  and  snow-clad  peaks. 
Close  at  hand,  on  the  left,  was  a  spot  of  marshy  ground,  which  had 
some  interest  for  us,  as  we  were  not  to  quit  the  waters  which  we  saw 
trickling  in  tiny  streams  from  it,  until,  swelled  by  many  others,  they 
pour  themselves  into  the  Atlantic  by  a  mouth  one  hundred  and  eighty 
miles  broad.  This  is  the  source  of  the  Huallaga,  one  of  the  head  tribu- 
taries of  the  Amazon. 

Seven  miles  in  a  N.  N.  E.  direction,  and  passing  many  haciendas  for 
the  gTinding  of  ore,  brought  us  to  the  village  of  Quinua,  where  a  mint 
was  established  several  years  ago,  but  is  now  abandoned.  The  machinery 
for  coining  is  much  better  than  any  I  have  seen  in  South  America.  It 
was  made  by  a  Boston  man,  named  Hacket,  Avho  also  made  nearly  all 
the  machinery  for  the  sugar-mills  near  Huanuco.  There  are  gold  mines 
in  this  neighborhood,  but  I  think  they  are  not  worked.  This  village  is 
just  at  the  point  where,  leaving  the  sterility  of  the  Cerro,  we  fall  in  with 
bushes  and  flowers. 

Four  miles  further  we  stopped  for  the  night  at  a  hacienda  called 
Chiquirin,  which  appears  once  to  have  been  flourishing,  but  which  is 
now  nearly  abandoned,  being  only  tenanted  by  an  old  man  to  take  care 
of  the  house.  The  bridge,  which  crossed  the  stream  in  front  of  the 
house,  had  had  arched  gateways  at  each  end ;  and  a  respectable-looking 
church  occupied  on  3  side  of  the  patio.  A  field  or  two  of  barley  is  all 
the  cultivation  now  about  it.    Indeed,  there  seemed  little  room  for 


113  SAN  RAFAEL. 

more,  for  the  bills  on  each  side  now  began  to  close  in  and  present  the 
appearance  of  mountains ;  and  I  have  no  doubt  that,  though  still  going 
down  hill,  we  have  begun  to  cross  the  second  range  of  the  Andes.  We 
could  get  no  supper  at  this  place.  I  wjis  tired  enough  to  care  little 
about  it.  llad  Ijurra  been  with  na,  he  would  probably  have  found 
something ;  but  ho  was  absent,  having  dropped  the  compass  on  the 
road  and  ridden  back  to  look  for  it.  The  height  of  Chicjuirin,  by  boil- 
ing point,  is  eleven  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty-two  feet  above  the 
level  of  the  sea. 

July  14. — We  had  a  pleasant  ride  down  the  valley,  whicli  opens  a 
little  and  gives  room  for  some  cultivation.  There  were  pinks  and  holy- 
hocks  in  the  little  gardens  adjoining  the  cottages  ;  also  cabbages,  lettuce, 
and  onions.  We  stopped  to  breakfast  at  Caxannarquilla,  a  village  of 
some  eight  or  ten  houses.  The  cura  received  me  hospitably,  and  gave 
me  some  breakfast,  lie  told  me  there  were  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls 
in  the  Doctrina.  I  should  judge  there  were  about  thirty  in  the  village. 
The  rock  of  this  district  is  red  sandstone  and  conglomerate.  At  six  miles 
further  we  passed  a  hacienda,  where  there  were  roses  in  bloom,  and  the 
flowering  pea,  with  wheat  on  the  hill-side,  and  a  grist-mill ;  also,  alfalfa 
and  maize.  Immediately  afterwards,  a  valley  from  the  southward  and 
eastward  joined  the  one  I  was  travelling  in,  bringing  its  stream  of  water 
to  swell  the  Iluallaga.  Gypsum  crops  out  of  the  hills  on  the  road-side, 
making  the  roads  white.  Houses  here  are  whitewa-shed  with  it.  A 
mile  further  is  the  village  of  Iluariaca,  a  long,  straggling  place  of  one, 
and  in  nonie  places  two  streets.  It  contains  about  seven  or  eight  hun- 
dred inhabitants,  I  thought  I  saw  more  white  people  and  more  indus- 
try in  this  place  than  is  common  in  the  small  Sierra  towns.  We  met 
continually  nmles  laden  with  tobacco,  coca,  and  fruit,  going  from 
Ilnanuco  and  the  Montana  beyond  it  to  the  Cerro.  A\'e  stoj)ped,  at 
half-past  five,  at  San  Rafael,  an  Indian  town  of  some  two  hundred  and 
fifty  souls,  with  a  white  lieutenant  governor,  and  put  up  at  his  house. 

I  had  my  bed  made  inside,  instead  of  outside  the  house,  which  wjus  a 
mistake,  as  I  was  "pigging  in"  with  all  the  family;  and  from  want  of 
air,  and  villanous  smell,  expected  to  catch  tabardillo  Ixfore  morning. 
The  thermometer  was  at  6'J°  at  7  p.  m.,  and  I  imagine  did  not  fall 
lower  than  riC  during  the  night ;  so  that  I  could  very  well  have  slept 
outside,  and  advise  all  travellers  to  do  so,  providing  themselves  with 
warm  bed-clothing.  Hero  I  was  joined  by  Ijurrn,  whom  I  was  verj' 
glad  to  see,  and  tlie  delini|Uont  arriero,  with  his  two  mules.  The  height 
of  San  liafael,  by  boiling  point,  is  eight  thousand  five  hundred  and  fifty- 
one  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 


'i&j^ 


PLli 


^*»«I?««««NJ,,«B5^ 


"'•'**V»o^^ 


MINER.  CE  MO   PASCO 


I 


R12. 


Jiiyero'"3ir. 


ORE   C  AMTE R ,  CERIO  PAS  C  0 . 


Warner  &¥c,  Gm^aiisMTMa,'- 


THE    ROAD.  113 

July  15. — We  got  alfalfa  for  our  mules,  but  it  is  now  getting 
very  scarce.  The  valley,  after  leaving  San  Rafael,  is  very  narrow,  and 
the  road  rises  and  falls  along  the  bare  flanks  of  the  mountains.  The 
character  of  the  rock  is  a  dark  schist;  the  growth,  willows — palma 
christi — maguey,  (a  species  of  cactus,  with  a  very  long,  broad,  yet 
sharp-pointed  leaf,)  which  throws  out  from  the  centre  of  a  clump  of 
leaves  a  light  stalk  of  three  or  four  inches  diameter  at  the  base,  and 
frequently  thirty  feet  in  height.  This  flowers  towards  the  top,  and  bears 
a  sort  of  nut-like  fruit.  The  stem  is  much  used  for  roofing  houses,  and 
the  broad,  thick  leaves  serve  for  thatch. 

We  shot  at  condors  hovering  over  a  dead  mule,  and  saw  a  small 
hawk  of  variegated  and  pretty  plumage,  of  a  species  which  we  had 
before  seen  near  Oroya.     About  ten  miles  from  San  Rafael  we  were 
crossing  the  highest  part  of  the  chain.     An  opening  in  the  mountains 
to  the  right  gave  us  a  view  of  some  splendid  snow-clad  peaks.     After 
an  hour's  ride  over  a  precipitous  and  broken  path,  rendered  dangerous 
in  some  places  by  the  sliding  of  the  earth  and  soft  rock  from  above  upon 
it,  we  commenced  a  very  sharp  descent,  which  brought  us,  in  fifteen 
minutes,  to  fruit-trees  and  a  patch  of  sugar-cane  on  the  banks  of  the 
stream.     The  sudden  transition  from  rugged  mountain  peaks,  where 
there  was  no  cultivation,  to  a  tropical  vegetation,  was  marvellous.     A 
few  miles  further  on  we  crossed  the  boundary-line  between  the  provinces 
of  Pasco  and  Huanuco.     The  transition  is  agreeable,  and  I  was  glad 
to  exchange  the  mining  for  the  agricultural  country.     At  half-past  four, 
we  arrived  at  the  town  of  Ambo,  a  village  of  one  thousand  inhabitants, 
situated  at  the  junction  of  the  rivers  Huacar  and  Huallaga.     The 
former  stream  comes  down  a  ravine  to  the  westward ;  each  is  about 
thirty-five  yards  broad,  and,  uniting,  they  pour  their  waters  by  the  town 
with  great  velocity.     The  rock  of  this  region  is  mostly  an  argillaceous 
schist,  though  just  above  Ambo  the  road  was  bordered  by  a  perpendicu- 
lar hill  of  beautiful  red  sandstone.     The  strata  all  along  this  route  are 
nearly  north  and  south  in  their  directions,  and  have   an  inclination 
upwards  towards  the  north  of  from  forty  to  seventy  degrees. 

Two  miles  from  Ambo,  on  the  right  or  opposite  bank  of  the  river,  is 
another  very  pretty  little  village,  almost  hiden  in  the  luxuriant  vegeta- 
tion about  it.  The  whole  valley  now  becomes  very  beautiful.  From 
the  road  on  which  we  were  travelling  to  the  river's  brink,  (a  breadth  of 
quarter  of  a  mile,)  the  land  (which  is  a  rich  river  bottom)  is  laid  off 
into  alternate  fields  of  sugar  cane  and  alfalfa.  The  blended  green  and 
yellow  of  this  growth,  divided  by  willows,  interspersed  with  fruit-trees, 
and  broken 'into  wavy  lines  by  the  serpentine  course  of  the  river,  pre- 
8 


114  QUICACAN. 

senlod  a  gay  and  cheerful  appearance,  which,  contrasting  with  the  for- 
bidding aspect  of  the  rocks  we  had  just  left,  filled  us  with  pleasurable 
emotions,  and  indicated  that  we  had  exchanged  a  semi-barbanus  fur  a 
civilized  society.  The  only  drawback  with  me  was  excessive  fatigue. 
When  Tjurra  rode  back  to  Cerro  Pasco  for  the  compass,  he  happened  to 
be  mounted  on  my  mule.  Tliis  gave  her  extra  work ;  and  the  ride  of 
to-day  was  a  lung  one,  so  that  the  little  beast  by  this  time  could  barely 
put  one  foot  before  the  other.  There  is  scarcely  anything  more  fatiguing 
than  to  ride  a  tired  horse  ;  and  when  I  arrived  (at  five)  at  the  hospitable 
gate^  of  the  hacienda  of  Quicacan,  and  with  difficulty  lifted  myself  out 
of  the  saddle,  it  was  with  the  deep  sigh  which  always  accomjianies  re- 
lief from  pain,  and  which  was  much  more  pleasurable  than  the  sight  of 
■wavini;  fields  and  babblinjj  brooks. 

The  owner  of  the  hacienda — an  English  gentleman,  named  Dyer,  to 
whom  I  brought  letters  from  Cerro  Pasco — received  me  and  my  large 
party  exactly  as  if  it  were  a 'matter  of  course,  and  as  if  I  had  quite  as 
much  right  to  enter  his  house  as  I  had  to  enter  an  inn.     Tlie  patio  was 
filled  with  horses,  belonging  to  a  large  party  from  Iluanuco  bound  to 
Lima,  and  every  seat  in  the  ample  portico  seemed  filled.     I  was  some- 
what surjirised  at  the  size  and  appointments  of  the  establishment.     It 
looked  like  a  little  village  of  itself,  with  its  offices  and  workshops.     The 
dwelling — a  large,  substantial,  though  low  building,  with  a  corridor  in 
front  supported  on  massive  arches,  and  having  the  spaces  between  the 
pillai-s  enclosed  with  iron  wire  to  serve  for  cages  for  numerous  rare  and 
pretty  birds — occupied  one   side  of  the  enclosed  square;  store-rooms 
occupied  another ;  the  sugar-house,  another ;  and  a  chapel,  the  fourth. 
A  bronze  fountain,  with  an  ample  basin,  decorated  the  centre.     I  was 
strongly  reminded  of  the  large  farni-houses  in  some  parts  of  Virginia : 
the  same  number  of  servants  bustling  about  in  each  other's  way ;  the 
children  of  the  master  and  the  servant  all  mixed  up  together;  the  same 
in  the  hospitable  welcome  to  all  comers;  the  same  careless  profusion. 
AV'lien  I  saw  the  servants  dragging  out  mattresses  and  bed-clothing  from 
some  obscure  room,  and  going  with  them  to  different  parts  of  the  hou.se 
to  m.'ike   pallets  for  the  visitors  who  intended  to  spend  the  night,  I 
seeuK  d  carried  back  to  my  boyish  days,  and  almost  fancied  that  I  was 
at  a  country  wedding  in  Virginia.     We  dined  at  six  in  another  spacious 
corridor,  enclosed  with  glass,  and  looking  out  upon  a  garden  rich  with 
grape-vines  and  flowers.     After  dinner,  (he  party  broke  up  into  groups 
for  tards  or  conversation,  which  continued  until  ten  o'clock  brought  tea 
and  bed  time. 

I  conversed  with  an  intelligent  and  manly  Frenchman  named  Escudcro. 


QUICACAiSr.  115 

His  account  of  the  seeking  and  gathering  of  Peruvian  bark  was  exceed- 
ingly interesting;  and  I  should  judge  that  it  is  an  occupation  which 
involves  much  fatigue  and  exposure.  He  spoke  very  highly  of  the 
mechanical  abilities  of  my  countryman,  Miguel  Hacket,  and  gave  me  a 
letter  to  deliver  to  him  wherever  I  might  find  him. 

I  also  had  some  talk  with  quite  a  pretty  young  woman,  who  had  come 
from  Quito  by  the  way  of  the  Pastaza,  Maranon,  and  Huallaga  rivers. 
She  said  she  was  scared  at  the  malos  pasos,  or  rapids  of  the  river,  and 
never  could  relish  monkey  soup;  but  what  gave  her  most  uneasiness 
was  the  polite  attention  of  the  Huambisas  Indians.  She  declared  that 
this  was  frightful,  and  swore  a  good  round  oath,  (that  might  have  satisfied 
Hotspur  in  a  lady,)  "Caramba!  but  they  were  mad  for  a  white  wife." 
Report  here  says  that  she  prefers  Yankee  to  Indian,  and  is  about  to 
bestow  her  hand  upon  a  long  countryman  of  ours,  the  head  blacksmith, 
named  Blake. 

Jul//  16. — Dyer  had  put  me  into  a  wicle  "four-poster."  None  but  a 
traveller  in  these  parts  can  imagine  the  intense  pleasure  with  which  I 
took  oflf  my  clothes  and  stretched  my  weary  limbs  between  linen  sheets, 
and  laid  my  head  upon  a  pillow  with  a  frilled  case  to  it.  I  could 
scarcely  sleep  for  the  enjoyment  of  the  luxury.  Rest,  too,  has  renewed 
my  beast ;  and  the  little  black,  which  I  thought  last  night  was  entirely 
done  up,  is  this  morning  as  lively  as  a  filly. 

The  sugar-mill  of  Quicacan  is  composed  of  an  overshot  wheel,  turned 
by  a  race  brought  from  the  river  far  above,  and  giving  motion  to  three 
heavy  brass  cylinders  that  crush  the  cane  between  them.  The  juice 
falls  into  a  receptacle  below,  and  is  led  off  by  a  trough  to  the  boilers, 
which  are  arranged  in  order  over  the  furnaces  like  a  common  kitchen 
range.  After  a  certain  amount  of  bailing,  it  is  poured  by  means  of 
ladles  into  wooden  moulds,  greased  and  laid  on  the  ground  in  ioavs. 
This  makes  the  chayicaca,  so  much  used  throughout  Peru.  It  supplies 
the  place,  in  this  country,  to  the  lower  classes,  which  the  wares  of  candy 
shops  do  in  our  own.  Two  of  the  moulds  are  put  together  and  envel- 
oped in  the  leaf  of  the  cane.  They  make  a  pound,  and  are  sold  at  the 
hacienda  for  six  and  a  quarter  cents. 

Cutting  the  cane,  bringing  it  in,  stripping  it  and  cutting  off  the  tops, 
supplying  the  mill,  boiling  the  sugar,  and  making  the  chancaca,  em- 
ploy about  twenty  men  and  four  mules.  With  this  force  one  hundred 
dollars'  worth  of  chancaca  may  be  made  in  a  day;  but  Mr.  Dyer 
says  that  he  is  not  now  making  more  than  twenty  or  thirty  dollars,  and 
not  paying  his  expenses.  He  attributes  this  to  the  fact  that  his  fields 
are  wearing  out  and  require  replanting.     He  thinks  that  cane  should  be 


116  HUANUCO. 

replanted  every  ten  or  fifteen  years.     It  is  fit  for  cutting  in  twelve* 
months  after  planting.     This  is  a  very  extensive  establishment ;  and  Mr. 
Dyor,  besides  liis  cane-fields,  which  are  on  the  river  side,  cultivates  a 
farm  for  raising  wheat,  maize,  peas,  beans,  and  potatoes,  on  the  hills 
above. 

We  left  Quicacan  at  noon,  in  company  with  Mr.  Dyer  and  my  French 
fiiend  ;  stopped  at  another  hacienda,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from 
this,  belonging  to  a  gentleman  named  Ingunza,  and  at  another  a  little 
lower  down,  called  Andabamba,  belonging  to  Scnor  San  Miguel,  to 
Avliom  I  brought  letters  from  Lima.  All  these,  with  another  on  the 
same  road,  belonged  to  a  Colonel  Lucar,  of  Uuanuco,  who  gave  them 
to  these  gentlemen,  his  sonsin-law.  Quicacan  was  the  family  mansion, 
and  had  been  longest  under  cultivation.  At  half-past  four  we  ariived 
at  Huanuco,  and,  presenting  a  letter  to  Colonel  Lucar,  from  his  son-in- 
law  Dyer,  we  were  kindly  received,  and  lodgings  appointed  us  in  his 
spacious  and  commodious  ho^se. 

Jnhj  lY. — Iluanuco  is  one  of  the  most  ancient  cities  in  Pern.  It  is 
prettily  situated  on  the  left  bank  of  the  Huanuco  or  llualhiga  river, 
which  is  here  about  forty  yards  wide,  and  at  this  time  (the  dry  season) 
about  two  feet  deep  in  the  channel.  It,  however,  every  two  or  three 
•hundred  yards,  nuis  over  rocks  or  a  gravelly  bed,  which  makes  it 
entirely  innavigable,  even  for  canoes,  though  when  the  river  is  up  I 
believe  articles  are  transported  on  it  from  hacienda  to  hacienda  in  small 
scows.  A  smaller  stream,  called  the  Higueros,  empties  into  it  just 
above  the  city. 

Tlie  houses  are  built  of  adobe,  with  tile  roofs,  and  almost  all  have 
large  gardens  attached  to  them — so  that  the  city  covers  a  good  deal  of 
ground  without  having  many  houses.  The  gardens  are  filled  with 
vegetables  and  fruit-trees,  and  make  delightful  j)lace8  of  recreation 
during  the  wanner  parts  of  the  day. 

The  population  nunib<r8  from  four  to  five  thousand.  They  seem  to 
be  a  simple  and  primitive  people  ;  and,  like  all  who  have  little  to  do, 
are  much  attached  to  religious  ceremonies — there  being  no  less  than 
fiftc'-n  churches  in  the  city,  some  of  them  (juite  largo  and  handsome. 
Tlie  people  are  civil  and  respectful,  and,  save  a  curious  stare  now  and 
then  at  my  spectacles  and  red  beard,  arc  by  no  means  offensive  in  their 
curiosity,  as  Smyth  represents  them  to  have  been  some  seventeen  years 
ago. 

The  tratle  of  the  place  is  witl»  Cerro  Pasco  on  the  one  hand,  and  tlie 
villages  of  the  Iluallaga  on  the  other.  It  sends  chancjica,  tobacco,  fiiiit, 
and  vegetables  to  the  Cerro,  and  receives  foreign  good^i  (mostly  English) 


THE  CHIRIMOYA.  117 

in  return.  A  shop-keeper  gave  me  the  price  of  some  of  the  articles  in 
his  store :  Broad  striped  cassimere,  such  as  gentlemen's  trousers  are  made 
of,  five  and  a  half  dollars  the  yard ;  very  common  silk  handkerchiefs, 
one  dollar ;  common  silk  hat,  five  dollars ;  blue  cloth  drillings,  twenty- 
five  cents  the  yard ;  baize,  eighty-seven  and  a  half  cents ;  narrow  ribbon, 
one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  the  piece ;  cotton  handkerchiefs,  two 
dollars  and  twenty-five  cents  the  dozen  ;  tolerable  Scotch  carpeting,  one 
dollar  and  a  half  the  vara,  of  thirty -three  English  inches;  bayeta  castilla, 
(a  kind  of  serge  or  woollen  cloth,  with  a  long  shag  upon  it,  and  of  rich 
colors,)  one  dollar  and  seventy-five  cents  the  vara.  In  the  market,  beef 
and  mutton  from  the  province  of  Huamalies  sell  at  six  and  a  quarter 
cents  the  pound ;  Indian  corn,  twenty-five  cents  the  olla,  of  twenty-five 
pounds ;  potatoes,  seventy-five  cents  for  the  contal,  of  fifty  pounds ;  salt, 
from  the  coast  at  Huacho,  six  and  a  quarter  cents  the  pound ;  sugar, 
generally  from  the  coast,  twenty-five  cents  the  pound,  (this  in  an  emi- 
nently sugar  country;)  cofiee,  twelve  and  a  half  cents.  Very  little  meat 
is  raised.  I  saw  a  small  quantity  of  pork,  with  plenty  of  tallow  candles ; 
and  rotten  potatoes  for  the  consumption  of  the  Indians.  Bread  is  good, 
but  is  generally  made,  in  the  best  houses,  of  American  flour  from  Lima. 
Vegetables  and  fruit  are  abundant  and  cheap.  This  is,  par  excellence, 
the  country  of  the  celebrated  chirimoya.  In  have  seen  this  fi-uit  in 
Huanuco  quite  twice  as  large  as  it  is  generally  seen  in  Lima,  and  of 
most  delicious  flavor.  They  have  a  custom  here  to  cover  the  finest 
specimens  ^nth  gold  leaf,  and  place  them  as  a  decoration  on  the  altar  of 
some  patron  Saint  on  his  festival.  The  church  afterwards  sells  them  ; 
and  I  have  seen  several  on  Colonel  Lucar's  table. 

This  gentleman  is  probably  the  richest  and  most  influential  man  in 
Huanuco.  He  seems  to  have  been  the  father  of  husbandry  in  these 
parts,  and  is  the  very  type  of  the  old  landed  proprietor  of  Virginia,  who 
has  lived  always  upon  his  estates,  and  attended  personally  to  their  culti- 
vation. Seated  at  the  head  of  his  table,  with  his  hat  on  to  keep  the 
draught  from  bis  head — and  which  he  would  insist  upon  removing  unless 
I  would  wear  mine — his  chair  surrounded  by  two  or  three  little  negro 
children,  whom  he  fed  with  bits  from  his  plate ;  and  attending  with  pa- 
tience and  kindness  to  the  clamorous  wants  of  a  pair  of  splendid  pea- 
cocks, a  couple  of  small  parrots  of  brilliant  and  variegated  plumage,  and 
a  beautiful  and  delicate  monkey — I  thought  I  had  rarely  seen  a  more 
perfect  pattern  of  the  patriarch.  His  kind  and  aftectionate  manner 
to  his  domestics,  (all  slaves,)  and  to  his  little  grandchildren,  a  pair  of 
sprightly  boys,  who  came  in  in  the  evening  from  the  college,  was  also 
very  pleasing.     There  are  thirty  servants  attached  to  the  house,  lar^ 


113  COLLEGE. 

and  small ;  and  the  family  is  reduced  to  the  Colonel  and  his  lady,  (at 
present  absent,)  and  the  boys. 

The  climate  of  Iluanuco  is  very  equable  and  very  salubrious.  There 
are  no  cases  of  affection  of  the  chest  which  commence  here ;  on  the 
contrary,  people  with  diseases  caused  by  the  ioclemency  of  the  weather 
about  Cerro  Pasco  come  to  Iluanuco  to  be  cured.  Dysentery  and 
tabardillo  are  the  commonest  diseases;  and  I  see  many  people  (particu- 
larly women)  with  goitre.  I  saw  a  woman  who  had  one  that  seemed 
to  arise  under  each  ear  and  encircle  the  throat  like  an  inflated  life-pre- 
server. The  ati'ection  is  said  to  be  owing  to  the  impurity  of  the  water, 
which  is  not  fit  to  drink  unless  filtered.  The  lower  class  of  people  do 
not  attend  to  this,  and  thus  the  disease  is  more  general  with  them  than 
with  the  higher  classes.  It  is  disagreeable  to  walk  out  in  the  middle  of 
the  day,  on  account  of  a  strong  northerly  wind,  which  sets  in  at  this 
season  about  noon,  and  lasts  till  dark,  raising  clouds  of  dust.  The 
mornings  and  evenings  are  very  pleasant,  though  the  sun  is  hot  for  an 
hour  or  two  before  the  breeze  sets  in.  The  height  of  Iluanuco  above 
the  level  of  the  sea  is,  by  boiling  point,  five  thousand  nine  hundred  and 
forty-six  feet. 

Tliere  is  a  college  with  about  twenty-two  "internal,"  and  eighty  day- 
scholars.  Its  income,  derived  from  lands  formerly  Ix'longing  to  con- 
rents,  is  seven  thousand  and  five  hundred  dollars  yearly.  It  has  a  fine 
set  of  chemical  and  other  philosophical  apparatus,  with  one  thousand 
specimens  of  European  minerals.  These  things  were  purchased  in 
Europe,  at  a  cost  of  five  thousand  dollars ;  and  the  country  owes  them 
to  the  zeal  for  learning  and  exertions  of  Don  Mariano  Eduardo  de 
Rivero,  formerly  prefect  of  the  department,  director  general  of  the 
mines,  and  now  consul  general  to  the  Netherlands,  where  he  is  said  to 
be  preparing  a  voluminous  work  on  the  antiquities  of  Peru.  As  I  shall 
probably  not  have  occasion  to  refer  to  him  again,  I  must  in  this  pljuH3 
express  my  sense  of  gratitude  for  the  information  I  have  received  from 
his  most  vahiable  publication,  "The  Memorial  of  Natural  Sciences,  and 
of  National  and  Foreign  Industry,"  edited  by  himself  and  Don  Nicolas 
Pierola,  the  modest  and  learned  director  of  the  museum  at  Lima.  The 
r)''partment  of  Junin  owes  much  to  its  former  prefect.  He  has  fotinded 
scli'M)|s,  improved  roads,  built  cemeteries,  and,  in  short,  whatever  good 
thing  I  noticed  on  my  route  might  generally  be  traced  back  to  Rivero. 

Jtilij  18. — I  called  on  tlie  sub-pn'fect  of  the  province,  and  delivered 
an  official  letter  from  the  prefect  of  the  department,  whom  I  had  visited 
at  Cerro  Pasco.  This  gentleman's  name  is  Maldonado.  IIo  received 
me  courteously,  and  promis(;d  me  any  assistance  I  might  stand  in  need 


CUARTO    DE    HABIOS.  119 

of.  He  seemed  to  be  at  bitter  feud  with  all  my  friends ;  and  tliey  rep- 
resented him  as  a  high-handed  personage.  We  met  at  Quicacan  a 
colonel  who  was  going  to  Lima,  escorted  by  a  number  of  his  friends,  to 
complain  to  the  government  of  his  hanng  been  illegally  imprisoned  by 
the  sub-prefect.  I  believe  the  cause  was  an  alleged  libel,  or  libellous 
publication  against  the  sub-prefect ;  and  if  it  was  of  the  nature  of  some 
of  the  publications  daily  seen  in  the  Lima  papers,  he  deserved  impiis- 
onment,  or  worse  punishment,  for  they  are  generally  the  foulest  and 
most  scurrilous  things,  which  no  decent  paper  in  the  United  States  would 
publish,  and  which  would  certainly  bring  upon  the  Avriter  a  fine  or  the 
horse-whip. 

People  in  Huanuco  are  fully  alive  to  the  importance  of  opening  the 
navigation  of  the  Huallaga  to  their  city.  They  speak  of  it  as  a  thing 
that  would  be  of  incalculable  advantage  to  them ;  and  their  leaders  and 
influential  men  have  often  urged  them  to  be  up  and  doing.  But, 
although  they  cannot  be  stirred  up  to  the  undertaking  themselves, 
they  are  jealous  of  the  attempt  by  any  other  route.  I  had  a  visit  this 
evening  from  my  Cerro  Pasco  acquaintance,  the  Intendeute  of  Pozuzu. 
The  old  gentleman  discoursed  long  and  earnestly  about  his  route  from 
the  Cerro  to  Pozuzu,  and  thence  to  Mayro.  When  he  went  away. 
Colonel  Lucar  asked  me  what  I  called  that  science  in  my  country  that 
put  people  to  sleep;  and  when  I  told  him  that  it  was  animal  magnetism, 
he  said  that  that  old  man  was  a  capital  magnetiser,  for  he  had  been 
to  sleep  an  hour.     I  think  there  was  some  jealousy  in  this. 

Rice,  tobacco,  and  straw  hats,  in  small  quantities,  are  now  brought  on 
the  backs  of  Indians  from  the  towns  on  the  Huallaga  to  Huanuco. 

Colonel  Lucar  showed  me  his  '■'■cuarto  de  habios,''''  or  room  where  he 
keeps  all  his  horse  furniture.  He  has  at  least  a  dozen  saddles  of  various 
patterns,  with  bridles,  pillons,  horse-cloths,  holsters,  and  everything 
complete.  Most  of  the  bridles  and  stirrups  are  heavily  plated  with 
silver.  People  take  great  care  of  their  horses  in  this  country,  and  are 
generally  good  horsemen.  There  are  one  or^two  carriages  and  gigs  in 
Huanuco,  made  in  England. 

I  sold  my  mules  to  the  Colonel  for  half  that  I  had  given  for  them, 
with  the  condition  that  we  should  ride  them  as  far  as  practicable  and 
send  them  back  by  the  arriero.  The  old  gentleman  agreed  to  it,  though 
rather  reluctantly.  He  said  that  some  fifteen  years  ago,  a  countryman 
of  mine,  and  calling  himself  an  officer  of  the  navy  also,  had  sold  him  his 
mules  for  pistols  and  fowling-pieces,  on  the  same  terms ;  but  when  he 
anived  at  the  end  of  his  journey,  he  sold  the  mules  again,  and  went  off 
with  the  proceeds.     The  Colonel  could  not  give  me  the  name  of  this 


120  ST  A.    MARIA    DEL    VALLE. 

honest  individual.     I  afterwards  ascertained  that  he  was  not  an  Ameri- 
can, but  a  German. 

Juhj  22. — Much  to  my  annoyance  our  servant  Mauricio  doseiued  this 
morning.  Ijurra  accuses  mo  of  having  spoiled  him  by  indulgence  ;  and 
I,  on  the  other  hand,  think  that  he  had  disgusted  him  by  tyranny.  I 
imagine  he  went  back  to  Lima  with  Castillo,  a  young  man  who  had 
beett  governor  of  the  district  of  Tarapoto,  on  tlie  Uuallaga,  and  who 
was  going  to  Lima  with  stuffed  birds'  skins  to  sell.  This  was  an  intelli- 
gent young  man,  who  gave  me  information  about  the  Montana.  Ho 
said  I  would  be  amply  protected  in  my  contemplated  voyage  up  the 
Ucayali  with  twenty-five  Chasuthios,  (Indians  of  Chasuta.)  fur  they 
were  a  brave  and  hardy  people;  but  that  the  Cocamas  and  Cocamillos, 
from  about  the  mouth  of  the  river,  were  great  cowards,  and  would 
desert  me  ou  the  first  appearance  of  the  savages — that  they  had  so 
treated  him.  I  rather  suspect  that  the  reason  for  Don  Mauricio's  shabby 
behavior  was,  that  we  were  getting  into  his  own  country,  and  that  he 
had  private  reasons  for  desiring  to  avoid  a  visit  home.  He  had  asked 
me  at  Tarma  to  let  him  go  with  Gibbon. 

Our  arrioro  made  his  appearance  at  noon,  instead  of  early  in  the 
morning,  as  he  had  promised ;  but  we  are  now  getting  used  to  this. 
Wc  did  not  ride  our  own  mules,  as  they  were  sick  and  not  in  condition 
to  travel,  and  the  arriero  supplied  us  with  others.  I  got  a  horse,  but 
did  not  derive  much  benefit  from  the  exchange.  Our  course  lay  down 
the  valley  N.  E.,  crossing  the  river  soon  after  leaving  the  town  by  a  rude 
bridge  floored  with  the  leaves  of  the  maguey.  We  found  the  road  good, 
but  rocky,  principally  with  the  debris  of  quartz.  Gold  is  occasionally 
found,  but  in  small  quantities,  in  the  mountains  bordering  this  valley. 
At  six  miles  from  Iluanuco  we  passed  the  village  of  Sta.  Maria  del 
Vallc,  of  three  huudred  inhabitants.  We  stopped  and  took  some  fruit 
and  pLsco  with  the  curate,  to  whom  also  I  had  a  letter  from  Lima. 

Every  traveller  in  this  country  should  provide  himself  with  letters  of 
introduction.  People,  it  is  true,  will  receive  him  without  them,  but  do 
not  use  that  cordial  and  welcome  manner  which  is  so  agreeable. 

The  cura  ha<l  some  fifty  or  sixty  new  and  well-bound  l>ookson  shelves, 
and  seemed  a  man  superior  to  the  generality  of  his  chuis.  He  said  that 
Valle  Wiis  a  poor  place,  producing  only  sugar-cane,  which  the  inhabitants 
put  to  no  other  use  than  to  make  huarajH)  to  drink ;  and  that,  if  it  were 
not  for  the  neighborhood  of  Iluanuco,  he  thought  that  ho  should  starve, 
lluarapo  is  the  fermented  juico  of  the  cane,  and  is  a  very  pleasant  drink 
of  a  hot  day. 

We  saw  a  few  sheep  and  goats  afler  leaving  the  village.    The  trees 


ACOMAYO.  121 

were  principally  ■willow  and  fruit-trees,  with  here  and  there  a  cotton  tree, 
bearing  indifferent  staple.  The  mountains  on  the  left,  or  Huanuco  side, 
send  down  spurs  towards  the  river,  between  which  are  pretty  little 
valleys,  not  deep  and  narrow,  but  spread  out  like  a  fan.  In  each  one 
of  these  there  is  situated  a  small  village  or  a  hacienda,  presenting,  with 
its  fields  of  cane  and  alfalfa,  and,  higher  up,  wheat,  a  very  pretty 
appearance.  It  is  not  so  on  the  right  bank.  The  small  streams  that 
flow  into  the  river  from  this  side  come  down  rugged  ravines,  with  sides 
of  soft  rock  and  white  earth,  and  are  generally  very  muddy.  We 
stopped  two  miles  beyond  Valle  at  a  hacienda  called  Ckullgui,  and 
slept  in  an  Indian  hut  with  several  other  people,  one  a  sick  woman 
•with  a  child  two  days  old.  Height  of  Chullqui,  by  B.  P.,  five  thousand 
six  hundred  and  twenty-six  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

Jul)/  23. — Course  still  N.  E.  along  the  banks  of  the  Huallaga.  Trees 
principally  small  acacias.  At  six  miles  from  Chullqui  we  crossd  the 
river,  turned  to  the  north,  and  ascended  a  ravine  (down  which  flowed  a 
small  stream)  to  the  village  of  Acomayo.  The  river  continues  its  course 
to  the  northward  and  eastward  and  sweeps  around  the  base  of  the  hills, 
which  form  (going  up)  the  right-hand  side  of  the  Quebrada,  up  which 
we  were  travelling.  The  road  which  we  had  left,  continuing  along  the 
banks  of  the  river,  leads  to  Panao,  Muna,  and  Pozuzu ;  Smyth's  route 
to  the  Pachitea. 

Acomayo  is  a  very  pleasantly-situated  village,  of  about  three  hun- 
dred inhabitants.  When  the  authorities  are  asked  concerninar  the 
population  of  any  place,  they  always  give  the  number  of  families.  This 
place  has  seventy  "  casados,"  or  couples  of  mamed  people  ;  and  I  judge, 
from  experience,  that  five  to  each  family  is  a  fair  allowance.  The  water 
here  is  very  good,  which  was  an  agreeable  change  from  the  Huanuco 
water ;  and  the  fruits,  oranges,  figs,  guavas,  and  chirimoyas,  are  of  good 
quality.  I  noticed,  also,  a  tree  bearing  a  large  bell-shaped  flower,  called 
floripondio.  This  is  an  old  acquaintance  of  mine ;  it  gives  oui  a  de- 
licious fragrance  at  night,  which,  accompanied,  as  I  have  known  it,  by 
soft  air,  rich  moon-light,  and  gentle  company,  makes  bare  existence  a 
happiness. 

About  three  miles  up  the  "Quebrada"  we  turned  to  the  northeast, 
and  commenced  the  ascent  of  the  Cerro  de  Carjns.  This  is  one  of  a 
range  of  mountains  running  to  the  southward  and  eastward,  forming 
the  left-hand  side  of  the  valley  of  Acomayo,  (looking  down  the  stream,) 
and  dividing  the  Sierra  from  the  Montana.  The  ascent  is  six  miles 
long,  and  very  tedious.  I  had  no  water  to  ascertain  its  height  by  the 
boiling-point  apparatus,  but  judge,  from  the  great  descent  to  Cashi,  (a 


122  CHINCHAO. 

distance  of  four  miles,  and  so  steep  tliat  we  preferred  to  walk  and  lead 
our  beasts.)  that  the  p.'Lss  is  full  t'ight  thousand  feet  above  the  level  of  the 
sea ;  Cashi  being  six  thousand  five  hundred  and  forty  feet. 

There  is  said  to  be  a  superb  view  of  the  Montana  from  the  summit 
of  this  hill,  but  the  clouds  (almost  within  reach  of  the  hand)  boiling  up 
from  the  great  deep  below  efl'ectually  cut  it  off,  and  we  could  see 
nothing.  When  we  had  got  some  distance  down,  and  obtained  a  view 
through  an  opening  in  the  thick  growth  of  the  mountain-side,  we  looked 
down  upon  the  most  rugged  country  I  have  ever  seen.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  order  or  regularity  in  the  hills,  which  were  thickly  covered  with 
forest ;  but  the  whole  had  the  appearance  of  the  surface  of  a  vast  boiling 
caldron  suddenly  stricken  motionless.  Just  at  the  summit,  and  where 
the  road  turns  to  descend,  hundreds  of  little  wooden  crosses  were  placed 
in  the  niches  of  the  rock — votive  dferings  of  the  pious  arrieros,  either 
of  gratitude  for  dangers  passed,  or  for  protection  against  dangers'  to 
corne,  in  the  a-*cent  or  descent  of  the  mountain. 

We  walked  down  the  descent,  leading  the  beasts.  The  road  was  very 
rocky  and  muddy,  and  the  mountain-side  was  clad  with  small  trees  and 
thick  undergrowth.  There  were  many  creepers  and  parasitical  plants, 
some  of  them  very  graceful  and  pretty.  We  stoj)ped,  at  six,  at  a  tambo 
called  Cashi,  built  on  a  plat,  about  half-way  down  the  mountain.  We 
found  our  place  of  rest  very  agreeable  ;  night  clear,  calm,  and  cold. 

July  24. — An  hour's  travel  brought  us  to  the  bottom  of  the  hill, 
w^here  we  encountered  the  Chinchao  valley  coming  down  from  the  right. 
We  crossed  the  stream  that  flowed  through  it,  and  travelled  down  the 
valley  on  its  right  bank,  the  road  rising  and  falling  on  the  sides  of  the 
hills.  The  character  of  the  rock  is  a  dark  slate-stone,  with  occasional 
beds  of  gypsum.  At  seven  miles  from  the  tambo  we  passed  the  village 
of  Chinchao,  containing  twelve  houses  and  a  church,  with  cotton,  coffee, 
orange,  and  i)lantain  trees  scattered  about  the  village.  A  pretty  shrub, 
bearing  a  gay,  red  flower,  in  appearance  like  our  crape  myrtle,  bor- 
dered the  road-side.  It  is  called  Sun  Juan,  because  it  blooms  about 
St.  John's  day,  the  24th  of  June,  like  the  Amancaes  at  Linuu  The 
cultivation  of  the  coca  conmiences  here. 

I  brought  a  letter  from  the  8ub-j)refect  at  Iluanuco,  for  the  governor 
of  Chinchao,  but  ho  was  absent  at  his  chacra,  and  not  to  be  found. 
We  then  a«ked  for  the  lieutenant  governor ;  but  though  there  seemed, 
from  the  general  a<c«iunt,  to  be  such  a  jn-rsou,  we  could  not  find  out 
exactly  who  he  was,  or  whore  he  lived.  The  arriuro  said  he  lived  "a 
little  lower  down  ;"  but  at  every  house  at  which  we  called  in  uur  descent 
the  reply  still  was  mas  abajo,  {yd  lower.)     At  last  we  seemed  to  have 


AN  AGREEABLE  ENCOUNTER.  123 

treed  him,  and  even  the  man's  wife  was  produced ;  but  after  a  little 
conversation  it  appeared  that  our  friend  was  still  mas  abajo.  I  was  tired 
and  hungry  enough  to  wish  he  was — where  he  could  not  get  any  lower, 
for  we  had  depended  upon  our  letter  for  a  breakfast.  AVe  continued 
our  weary  route,  and  at  the  next  house  (the  best-looking  we  had 
seen)  encountered  a  white  Avoman,  rather  shrewish-looking,  indeed,  but 
still  a  woman,  synonym  everywhere  for  kindness.  Ijuna  civilly  in- 
quired if  we  could  get  a  few  eggs.  I  think  our  appearance,  particularly 
the  guns  slung  behind  the  saddles,  bred  mistrust,  for  we  met  with  the 
invariable  lie,  no  hay,  (haven't  got  any.)  I  couldn't  be  baffled  in  this 
way :  so,  taking  off  my  hat,  and  making  my  best  bow,  in  my  most 
insinuating  tones  I  said  "that  we  had  something  to  eat  in  our  saddle- 
bags, and  would  be  very  much  obliged  if  La  Senora  would  peimit  us 
to  alight  and  take  our  breakfast  there."  She  softened  down  at  once, 
and  said  that  if  we  had  any  tea  she  could  give  us  some  nice  fi-esh  milk 
to  mix  with  it.  We  had  no  tea,  but  declared,  with  many  thanks,  that 
the  milk  would  be  very  acceptable.  Whereupon,  it  was  put  on  to  boil ; 
and,  moreover,  a  dozen  fresh  eggs,  and  boiled  to  perfection,  were  also 
produced.  I  enjoyed  the  breakfast  very  much,  and  was  pluming  myself 
on  the  effect  of  my  fine  address,  when  (alas  for  my  vanity  !)  the  lady, 
after  looking  at  my  companion  for  some  time,  said  to  him,  "Arn't  you 
un  tal  (a  certain)  Ijurra  ?  He  said  yes,  "  Then  we  are  old  playmates," 
said  she.  "Don't  you  recollect  our  play-ground,  your  old  uncle's  gar- 
den in  Huanuco,  and  the  apples  you  used  to  steal  out  of  it  to  give 
me?  Vm  Mercedes  Prado:'  Here  was  the  solution  to  the  enigma  of 
our  reception.  Strange  to  say,  the  name  awoke  pleasant  recollections 
in  me  also,  and  set  before  me  the  features  of  the  gay  and  beautiful 
young  girl  whose  quick  repartee  and  merry  laugh  added  so  much  to 
the  chaim  of  Valparaiso  society. 

The  house  of  our  hostess  was  very  like  a  capsized  ship,  with  the 
cut-water  and  upper  part  of  the  bows  sawn  off"  to  make  an  entrance. 
It  had  a  regular  breast-hook  made  of  saplings  twisted  together  over  the 
door,  a  kelson  reaching  from  this  to  a  very  perfect  ste^n  frame,  and, 
had  the  ribs  been  curved  instead  of  straight,  the  likeness  would  have 
been  exact.  It  was  about  fifty  feet  long,  and  made  an  airy  and  com- 
modious residence.  I  was  surprised  to  find  that  we  were  in  the  upper 
story  of  it,  for  we  had  entered  from  the  ground  without  steps ;  but  I 
afterwards  discovered  that  we  had  entered  from  an  esplanade  cut  in  the 
side  of  the  hill,  levelled  for  the  purpose  of  drying  coca  leaves,  and  that 
the  lower  story  was  at  the  bottom  of  the  hill,  the  entrance  facing  the 
other  way. 


124  CHTHUANGALA. 

"We  went  on  our  way  rejoicing.  The  arriero  had  gone  on  ahead ; 
and  when  we  arrived  at  a  chacra,  called  Atajo,  at  half-past  four,  we 
found  that  he  had  unloaded  the  mules.  I  was  quite  angiy  at  his 
stopping  so  soon,  and  ordered  liira  to  load  up  again  ;  but  finding  that 
he  went  to  work  to  do  it,  I  let  him  off,  cautioning  him  against  unload- 
ing without  orders.  The  means  of  living  are  getting  very  scarce.  TVe 
could  get  nothing  to  eat,  and  had  to  draw  upon  our  charqui.  The 
people  of  the  hut  seem  contented  with  a  chujye  made  of  lard,  with 
ullucas  and  young  onions.  Nights  still  cool;  Ther.  at  V  p.  m.,  61°; 
elevation  of  "Atajo,"  three  thousand  nine  hundred  and  ten  feet. 

July  25. — Tlie  road  from  this  place  leaves  the  banks  of  the  stream 
and  ascends  the  hills  on  the  right  by  a  very  steep  and  tedious  ascent 
The  rocks  of  the  road  are  a  mica  slate,  and  at  the  top  of  the  hills  a 
dark  schist,  white  on  the  outside  from  exposure  to  the  atmosphere.  After 
arriving  at  the  summit,  we  turned  N.  E.  by  N.,  and  passed  the  hacien- 
das called  Mesa  jmta  (the  top  of  the  table)  and  Casapi,  which  seemed 
abandoned.  The  road  hence  is  a  very  rough  descent,  and  a  mere 
path  through  the  bushes;  the  earth  white,  like  lime,  with  gypsum 
cropping  out  occasionally.  Near  night  we  stopped  at  Chihuauf/ah,  the 
last  hacienda  of  the  valley,  and  beyond  which  there  is  no  mule-road. 
The  arrieros  left,  us  to  seek  pasturage.  This  is  our  last  dealing  with 
this  gentry.  I  was  glad  to  dismount,  for  I  was  tired  of  riding;  but  in 
spite  of  the  abuse  that  is  generally  heaped  ui)on  the  arrieros,  I  think  I 
have  had  little  difficulty  to  complain  of.  They  seem  to  be  tolerably 
honest  and  faithful,  (when  once  on  the  road,)  and,  with  judicious  treat- 
ment, one  can  get  along  with  them  very  comfortably.  It  rained  heavily 
all  the  latter  part  of  the  night. 

Julij  2G. — At  this  placo  we  were  to  await  the  Indians  from  Tinpo 
Maria,  (a  village  at  the  head  of  canoe  navigation  on  the  Iliiallaga,)  to 
carry  our  luggage  on.  Ijurra  had  written  from  Iluanuco  to  the  gov- 
ernor of  Tingo  Maria,  requesting  him  to  send  them  to  us  at  Chihuangala, 
Bending  the  l^-tter  by  one  of  Castillo's  company  who  was  returning. 

We  had  hard  commons  here,  our  chnrqui  beginning  to  decav.  No 
eggs ;  no  potatoes ;  nothing,  in  fact,  but  yuccas  and  bananas.  There 
were  turkeys,  chickens,  and  a  pig  running  about  the  chacra ;  but  no 
entreaty,  nor  any  reasonable  offer  of  mont-y,  couM  induce  the  jwople  to 
Bell  us  one.  I  offered  iho  pa  from  a  dollar  and  a  half  for  a  halfgrown 
turkey  ;  but  she  said  she  must  wait  till  her  husband  came  in  from  his 
work,  so  that  she  might  consult  him.  When  he  came,  after  long  de- 
bate, it  was  decided  that  they  would  sell  me  a  chicken  for  breakfast  to- 
morrow.    I  tried  hard  to  find  out  why  they  were  so  reluctant  to  sell, 


SE?fOR    MARTINS.  125 

for  they  do  not  eat  them  themselves ;  but  did  not  succeed.  I  believe  it 
to  be  something  like  the  miser-feeling  of  parting  with  property,  the  not 
being  used  to  money,  and  also  a  dislike  to  kill  what  they  have  reared 
and  seen  grow  up  under  their  own  eye. 

Our  patrona  had  six  or  seven  children  :  one  an  infant,  which,  when 
she  puts  to  sleep,  she  enwraps  closely  in  a  woollen  cloth,  and  swathes 
tightly,  over  arms  and  all,  with  a  broad  thick  band,  so  that  it  is  per- 
fectly stiflf,  and  looks  hke  a  log  of  wood,  or  a  roll  of  cloth.  I  asked 
why  she  did  this,  but  could  only  get  the  reply  that  it  was  the  "  custom 
here."  The  young  women  of  the  country  have  very  good  features,  and 
appear  lively  and  good-tempered.  Two  daughters  of  the  patrona  came 
in  on  a  visit  to-day.  I  suppose  they  are  out  at  work  (probably  as  house 
servants)  in  some  neighboring  hacienda.  They  were  dressed  in  red 
calicoes,  always  open  in  the  back,  and  with  the  invariable  shawl ;  and 
one  of  them  had  ruffles  of  cotton  lace  around  the  bottom  of  the  sleeves, 
which  did  not  reach  to  the  elbow.  The  girls  were  nearly  as  dark  as 
Indians,  but  I  presume  they  had  a  mixture  of  white  blood. 

July  28. — I  walked,  in  company  with  IjuiTa,  about  three  miles  to 
visit  a  Seiior  Martins,  at  his  hacienda  of  Cocheros.  We  found  this  gen- 
tleman a  clever  and  intelligent  Portuguese,  who  had  passed  many  years  in 
this  country.  He  knew  Smyth,  and  had  helped  him  along  on  this  route. 
His  wife  is  DoM  Juana  del  Rio,  a  very  lady -like  person,  in  spite  of  her 
common  country  costume.  It  was  quite  surprising  to  see  a  Limena, 
and  one  who  had  evidently  lived  in  the  fii-st  circles  of  that  city,  in  this 
wild  country,  and  in  this  rude  though  comfortable  house.  The  floor 
was  earth,  and  I  saw  no  chairs.  The  lady  sat  in  a  hammock,  and  the 
men  either  on  the  mud  benches  around  the  sides  of  the  room,  or  on  a 
coarse  wooden  one  alongside  of  a  coarse  table.  Part  of  the  house  was 
curtained  off  into  small  bed-rooms.  There  was  evident  plenty,  and 
great  comparative  comfort  about  the  house  ;  also,  a  fine  lot  of  handsome, 
intelligent-looking  children.  Seiior  Martins  told  me  that  this  Quebrada 
produced  seven  hundred  cartas  of  coca  yearly.  A  carga  is  two  hundred 
and  sixty  pounds.  The  value  in  Huanuco  is  generally  three  dollars  the 
arroba.  This  would  make  the  value  of  the  CTop  twenty-one  thousand 
eight  hundred  and  forty  dollars.  The  hire  of  the  seven  hundred  mules 
required  to  carry  it  to  Huanuco  is  two  thousand  eight  hundred  dollars, 
which  reduces  the  value  to  about  nineteen  thousand  dollars.  There  ai"e 
not  many  haciendas,  but  a  number  of  small  farms ;  the  owners  of  which 
sell  their  coca  on  the  spot  for  two  dollars  the  arroba.  I  asked  Martins 
the  reason  why  I  had  seen  several  of  the  haciendas  abandoned,  particu- 
larly his  own  large  one  of  Casapi.     He  said  there  were  two  causes  :  one 


126  MR.    NATION. 

being  a  large  ant  that  ate  the  coca  loaves,  and  which,  when  once  estab- 
lishe|^  in  a  plantation,  was  diflicnilt  to  get  rid  of;  and  another  was  tlie 
scarcity  of  labor — that  it  was  baiely  to  be  had  in  the  Quebrada*  that 
he  had  six  laborere  on  his  hacienda ;  and  that  he  was  at  least  two 
thousand  dollars  in  advance  to  thera.  The  money,  of  course,  had  been 
advanced  to  them  in  the  shape  of  supplies,  and  I  suppose  these  laborers 
are  now  as  efiectually  slaves  as  if  they  were  so  by  law. 

Nothing  is  sold  fi'om  this  valley  but  coca.  Only  sufficient  coffee  and 
sugar  cane  are  planted  for  the  use  of  the  inhabitants.  Senor  Martins 
gave  us  some  very  good  ca9acha,  or  rum  made  from  the  cane*  and  some 
tolerable  pine-apples  and  plantains.  A  little  cotton  is  cultivated,  and  a 
coarse  cloth  is  woven  by  hand  from  it.  Every  old  woman  goes  about 
her  household  avocations  with  a  bunch  of  cotton  in  her  hand,  and  a 
spindle  hanging  belovr.  I  was  surprised  not  to  see  any  wild  animals> 
though  I  am  told  that  there  are  deer,  hares,  tiger-cats,  and  animals  of 
the  mink  kind,  that  occasionally  run  off  with  the  poultry.  There  are 
not  so  many  birds  as  I  expected ;  those  I  have  seen  are  generally  of  a 
gay  and  rich  plumage.  Insect  life  is  very  abundant,  and  nearly  all  sting 
or  bite.  The  climate  is  very  pleasant,  though  the  sun  is  hot  in  mid-day. 
The  diseases,  which  occur  rarely,  aie  cutaneous  affections,  tabardillo, 
and  sometimes  small-pox. 

"We  met,  at  Cocheros,  an  English  botanist,  named  Nation,  upon  whose 
track  we  have  been  ever  since  leavino;  Lima.  He  was  the  gardener  of 
Souza  Fcrreyra,  the  Brazilian  Charge  in  Lima,  and  I  believe  was  collect- 
ing plants  for  him.  Poor  fellow  !  he  had  had  a  hard  time  of  it ;  he  lost 
his  mule  not  long  after  leaving  Lima,  and  walked  from  Surco  to  Moroco- 
cha,  where  some  kind  person  supplied  him  with  another.  He  has  also 
had  tertiana  whenever  he  hsis  gone  into  the  Montana.  lie  was  alone, 
and  spoke  no  Spanish,  but  he  had  combatted  obstacles  and  difficulties 
with  a  8j)irit  and  perseverance  deserving  all  praise.  I  was  sorry  for  his 
misliaps,  but  could  not  In-lp  laughing  at  him  a  little  wlien  I  observed  that 
the  bats  had  nearly  eaten  his  mule  up.  The  poor  bea.st  was  covere<l  with 
blood  all  over,  and  had  nearly  lost  an  eye  from  their  bites.  Mr.  Nation 
has  sent  a  great  many  specimens  of  plants  to  Lima,  a'ld  says  that  the 
"flora"  of  this  country  is  rich,  and  almost  identical  with  that  of  Brazil. 

On  our  return  from  Cocheros  we  stopped  at  the  bouse  of  a  man  who 
had,  the  day  before,  promised  to  sell  us  a  fowl ;  with  the  usual  want  of 
good  faith  of  these  ])eoj)l«',  he  now  refused.  Ijurra  took  the  gun  from 
my  hand,  and,  befi)re  1  wjis  aware  what  ho  wjis  about  to  do,  shot  a 
turkey.  The  man  and  his  wife  made  a  great  outcry  over  it,  and  he  was 
liurryiiig  off,  with  furious  gestures  and  menacing  language,  to  report  the 
matter  to  his  patron,  when  a  few  kind  words,  the  helping  myself  to  a 


THE    HUALLAGA    RIVER.  127 

chew  of  coca  out  of  his  huallqui,  or  leathern  bag,  in  which  it  is  carried, 
and  the  offer  of  a  dollar  and  a  half,  which  before  he  had  indignantly 
spurned,  changed  his  mood,  and  he  smiled  and  expressed  himself  satis- 
fied, now  that  the  thing  was  done  and  it  could  not  be  helped.  I  had 
been  often  told  by  travellers  that  this  was  frequently  necessary  to  get 
something  to  eat,  but  had  always  set  my  mind  resolutely  against  any 
such  injustice  and  oppression  ;  and  I  expressed  my  opinion  of  the  matter 
to  Ijurra,  and  requested  that  the  like  should  not  occur  again.  The 
elevation  of  Chihuangala  is  three  thousand  four  hundred  and  twenty- 
one  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

July  30. — At  10  a.  m.,  when  we  had  begun  to  despair  of  the  coming 
of  our  Indians,  and  Ijurra  was  about  to  start  alone  for  Tingo  Maria,  for 
the  purpose  of  fetching  them,  they  came  shouting  into  the  chacra,  thir- 
teen in  number.  They  were  young,  slight,  but  muscular-looking  fellows, 
all  life  and  energy ;  and  wanted  to  shoulder  the  tininks  and  be  off  at 
once.  We,  however,  gave  them  some  charqui,  and  set  them  to  breakfast. 
At  noon  we  started,  and  descended  the  valley  of  Chiachao  in  a  N.  N. 
E.  direction  ;  the  path  steep  and  obstructed  with  bushes. 

At  about  six  miles  from  Chihuangala  we  arrived  at  the  junction  of 
the  Chinchao  river  with  the  Huallaga,  in  a  heavy  shower  of  rain,  with 
thunder  and  lightning.  By  leaving  the  Huallaga  at  Acomayo,  below 
Huanuco,  crossing  a  range  of  mountains  at  the  Cerro  de  Carpis,  striking 
the  head  of  the  valley  of  Chinchao,  and  descending  it,  we  had  cut  off 
a  great  bend  of  the  river,  and  now  struck  it  again  at  the  junction  of 
the  Chinchao.  It  is  here  some  sixty  yards  wide,  and  the  Chinchao 
thirty,  both  much  obstructed  with  shoals  and  banks  of  gravel.  The 
peons  waded  the  Huallaga  above  the  junction,  and  brought  up  a  canoe 
from  the  hacienda  of  Chinchayvitoc^  a  few  hundred  yards  below,  and 
on  the  opposite  side.  We  passed  in  the  canoe,  which  the  Indians 
managed  very  well.  It  was  a  great  treat,  after  the  tedious  walk  we 
had  had,  to  feel  the  free,  rapid  motion  of  the  boat  as  it  glided  down 
the  stream.  The  stream  seemed  to  run  at  the  rate  of  five  or  six  miles 
the  hour  ;  but,  by  keeping  close  in  shore,  two  Indians  could  paddle  the 
light  canoe  against  it  very  well. 

Chinchayvitoc  is  a  hacienda  established  by  a  Bolivian  gentleman 
named  Villamil,  for  the  collection  of  Peruvian  bark.  He  brought  some 
Bolivians  with  him  to  search  for  the  bark ;  but  it  is  not  to  be  found  in 
this  country  of  good  quality,  and  the  scheme  seems  a  failure.  There  is 
a  mayordomo  and  a  family  of  Indians  linng  at  the  hacienda,  but 
nothing  is  doing.  Our  peons  cooked  our  dinner  of  cheese  and  rice,  and 
made  us  a  good  cup  of  coffee.     These  are  Hvely,  good-tempered  fellows, 


128  THE  ROAD. 

and,  properly  treated,  make  good  and  serNjceable  travelling  companions. 
Let  them  but  be  f;xitlifully  paid,  a  kind  word  now  and  then  spoken  to 
them,  and  their  cargoes  rather  under  than  over  the  regular  weight, 
(eighty-seven  and  a  half  pounds,)  and  they  will  serve  faithfully  and 
honestly,  and  go  singing  and  chattering  through  the  woods  like  so  many 
monkeys.  Above  all,  let  them  stop  when  they  wish,  and  don't  attempt 
to  hurry  them. 

We  had  Mr.  Nation  in  company.  He  had  collected  some  valuable 
plants,  and  showed  me  one  which  he  said  was  a  present  for  an  Emperor, 
and  that  its  very  name  would  make  my  journal  famous.  I  of  coui-se 
did  not  ask  it  of  him  ;  but  was  very  glad  to  be  able  to  repay  to  him, 
in  some  slight  measure,  the  many  kindnesses  I  have  received  from  his 
countrymen,  by  giving  him  a  part  of  my  bed-clothes,  and  making  him 
comfortable  for  the  night,  which  he  seemed  to  be  much  in  need  of,  for 
he  was  wet  and  sick  ;  and  to  sleep  on  the  ground  in  that  condition  must 
be  very  dangerous.  There  is  much  moisture  in  the  atmosphere;  and  I 
find  it  almost  impossible  to  keep  the  guns  in  serviceable  order. 

We  met  at  this  place  some  Indians  carrying  tobacco  from  Tocache 
and  Saposoa  (towns  of  the  Uuallaga)  to  Huanuco.  Enterprising  men 
have  frequently  tried  to  establish  a  trade  along  this  river,  carrying 
down  cotton  goods,  knives,  hatchets,  beads,  <kc.,  and  getting  return- 
cargoes  of  tobacco,  rice,  straw  hats,  rare  birds,  and  animals ;  but  the  dif- 
ficulties of  the  route  seem  to  have  baffled  entei"prise.  About  two  and  a 
half  years  ago  Vicente  Cevallos  made  a  large  venture.  He  carried 
down  thirty-five  trunks  or  packages  of  goods,  and  the  people  of  the 
river  still  talk  of  his  articles  of  luxury ;  but  in  passing  one  of  the 
malos  pasos,  or  rapids  of  the  river,  his  boat  capsized,  and  he  lost  every- 
thing. 

The  Indians  here  had  blue  limestone,  which  they  were  burning  to 
mix  with  their  coca. 

July  31. — I  bathed  in  the  river  before  starting.  This  is  wrong  in  so 
humid  an  atmosphere.  I  became  chilled,  and  did  not  get  over  it  for 
some  houi"s.  A  native  traveller  in  these  parts  will  not  even  wash  his 
face  and  hands  before  the  sun  is  well  up.  Soon  after  starting  we  crossed 
a  small  stream,  and  ascended  a  hill  that  overlooks  the  falls  of  Cat/ttmlxi^ 
beyond  which  canoes  cannot  ascend.  I  did  not  see  the  falls,  but  am 
told  that  there  is  no  cascade  of  height,  but  rather  a  considerably  inclined 
plain,  much  obstructed  by  drift.  Smyth  says:  "From  hence,"  (the  cave 
of  Cayumba,  below  the  fulls,)  "  we  had  a  very  picturesijuo  view  of  both 
the  Iluallaga  and  Cayumba — the  former  rushing  between  two  high 
perpendicular  rocks,  and  the  latter  rolling  down  a  steep  ravine.     They 


FIRST    MAL-PASO.  129 

unite  witli  great  violence  at  a  point  where  there  is  a  small  island  covered 
with  trees,  and  roll  past  the  cave  in  an  imnetuous  torrent." 

The  ascent  of  the  hill  was  very  tedious,  and  I  should  complain  of  the 
fatigue  but  for  shame's  sake  ;  for  there  were  Indians  along,  young  and 
rather  small  men,  who  were  carrying  a  burden  of  nearly  one  hundred 
pound*  on  their  back.  Their  manner  of  candying  cargoes  is  to  have  a 
sort  of  cotton  satchel,  of  open  work,  with  a  broad  stout  strap  to  it.  The 
end  of  the  trunk  or  package,  M'hich  is  j^laced  on  end,  is  put  into  the 
bag,  and  the  Indian,  sitting  down  with  his  back  to  it,  passes  the  strap 
over  his  forehead,  and  then,  with  a  lift  fi-om  another,  rises  to  his  feet, 
and,  bending  forward,  bring-s  the  weight  upon  the  muscles  of  his  neck 
and  back.  A  bit  of  blanket,  or  old  cotton  cloth,  protects  the  skin  of 
the  back  from  chafe.  The  traveller  in  these  parts  should  be  as  lightly 
clad  and  carry  as  little  weight  as  possible,  for  the  path  is  very  steep  and 
muddy.  I  had  been  thoughtless  enough  to  wear  my  heavy  Sierra 
clothes,  and  to  load  myself  with  a  gun  of  a  greater  weight,  I  believe, 
than  a  standard  musket — and  so  had  occasion  to  en\'y  Ijurra  his  light 
rig  of  nankeen  trousers  and  cotton  shirt,  long  but  light  staff",  and  twilled 
cotton  "  Jeffersons." 

The  descent  of  this  hill,  which  is  nearly  as  tedious  as  the  ascent, 
brought  us  to  the  banks  of  the  river  opposite  the  mal-paso  of  Palma. 
This  is  the  first  rapid  I  have  seen,  and  it  looked  formidable  enough. 
The  river,  obstructed  in  its  rapid  course,  breaks  into  waves,  which  dash 
with  thundering  violence  against  the  rocks,  and  rush  between  them  in 
sluices  of  dazzling  velocity.  Cargoes  must  always  be  landed  at  this 
place,  and  carried  around.  The  canoe,  thus  lightened,  under  skilful 
and  practical  management,  may  shoot  the  rapid ;  but  this  should  not  be 
attempted  where  it  can  be  avoided.  By  prudenc^,  these  malos  pasos 
(the  dread  of  travellers)  are  stripped  of  all  danger ;  but  the  Indians 
sometimes  get  drunk  and  insist  upon  the  attempt ;  and  thus  these  places 
have  become  the  graves  of  many.  Since  my  return  home  I  have  a 
letter  from  Castillo,  the  young  man  I  met  in  Huanuco,  enclosing  others 
which  were  sent  to  him  at  Tarapota  from  Lima  to  be  forwarded  to  me. 
He  begged  me  to  excuse  the  condition  in  which  I  should  i-eceive  these 
letters,  for  they  had  been  shipwrecked  in  their  transit.  "  Three  persons," 
said  he,  "  were  drowned,  but  the  hiiers  fortunately/  escaped." 

Nearly  all  the  malos  pasos  are  at  the  mouth  of  a  tributary.  These, 
in  the  floods,  bring  down  quantities  of  drift,  with  heavy  boulders,  which, 
thrown  crosswise  into  the  stream,  lodge  and  form  the  obstructions. 
X-ittle  labor  would  be  required  to  clear  away  the  rocks,  and  make  the 
river  passable  for  canoes  at  least,  if  not  for  light-draught  steamboats. 
9 


130  THE    CAVE. 

The  trees  of  the  forest  are  large,  tall,  and  without  branches  for  a  great 
distance  up.  Ijurra  pointed  out  one  to  me,  of  smooth  bark,  about  four 
feet  diameter  near  the  ground,  and  which  ran  up  sixty  or  se\enty  feet 
<vithout  a  branch.  lie  said  that  it  was  so  hard  that  it  resisted  all 
attacks  of  the  axe  ;  and,  to  get  it  down,  it  was  necessary  to  remove  the 
earth  and  set  fire  to  the  roots;  and  that,  suffered  to  lie  in  the  T^ater  for 
a  lonof  time,  it  turned  to  stone  of  so  hard  a  character,  that,  like  flint,  it 
would  strike  fire  from  steel.  Unfortunately  for  the  accuracy  of  the 
statement,  we  next  day  saw  gigantic  trees  of  this  species  that  had  been 
felled  with  an  axe.  The  wood  is,  however,  verj'  liard  and  heavy — too 
much  so  for  any  practical  use  here.  The  tree  is  called  ccqtirona.  It 
has  a  smooth  bark,  which  it  is  continually  changing.  The  old  bark  is  a 
very  pretty  light-red ;  the  new,  a  pea-green. 

At  half-past  4  p.  m.,  we  arrived  at  the  Cave,  a  place  where  a  huge 
rock,  projecting  from  the  hill-side,  made  a  shelter  which  would  cover 
and  protect  from  dew  or  rain  about  a  dozen  persons.  The  Indian  who 
carried  my  bag  of  bedding  wished  to  make  my  bed  there ;  but  I  decided 
that  it  was  too  damp,  and  made  him  spread  it  out  on  tlie  shingle  by  the 
river  brink.  The  largest  part  of  the  cargo  had  not  arrived,  and  I  feared 
that  we  were  without  drink  or  cigais,  which  would  have  been  a  great 
deprivation  to  us  after  the  fatigue  of  the  day.  The  rice  and  cheese  were 
on  hand ;  and,  to  our  great  delight,  Ijurra  found  in  his  saddle-bags  a 
bottle  of  sherry-brandy  that  Mr  Jump  had  insisted  upon  our  taking 
fcom  Cerro  Pasco,  and  which  I  had  forgotten.  A  tin-pan  of  hot  boiled 
rice  flavored  with  cheese,  a  teacup  of  the  brandy,  and  half  a  dozen  paper 
cigars,  made  us  very  comfortable ;  and,  lulled  by  the  rustling  of  the 
leaves  and  the  roar  of  the  river,  wo  slept  in  spite  of  the  ants  and  other 
insects  that  left  th^  mark  of  their  bites  upon  our  carcjisses.  I  saw  here, 
for  the  first  time,  the  luciernaf/o,  or  fire-fly  of  this  country.  It  is,  unlike 
ours,  a  species  of  beetle,  carrying  two  white  lights  in  its  eyes,  (or,  ratlier, 
in  the  places  where  the  eyes  of  insects  generally  are,)  and  a  red  light 
between  the  scales  of  the  belly — so  that  it  reminded  me  something  of 
the  ocean  steamers.  It  has  the  power  of  softening  the  light  of  the  eyes 
until  it  becomes  very  faint ;  but  upon  irritating  it,  by  piu'^sing  the  finger 
over  the  eyes,  the  light  becomes  very  bright  and  sparkling.  Tlioy  aro 
sometimes  carried  to  Lima,  (enclosed  in  an  apartment  cut  into  a  sugar- 
cane,) where  the  ladies,  at  balls  or  theatres,  put  them  in  their  hair  for 
ornament. 

Aufntat  1. — We  started,  without  breakfast,  at  a  quarter  to  seven, 
thinking  that  we  were  near  Tingo  Maria.  But  it  was  ten  miles  distant, 
and  I  was  weaiy  enough  ero  wo  arrived.     My  principal  source  of  annoy- 


JUANA  DEL  RIO.  131 

ance  was  the  having  inadvertedly  asked  how  far  we  were  oflf  from  our 
destination.  I  *vould  advise  no  travellengto  do  this ;  he  is  sure  to  be 
disappointed ;  and  when  he  is  told  (as  he  will  certainly  be)  that  he  is 
near,  the  miles  appear  doubly  long.  The  Indians  take  no  account  of 
time  or  distance.  They  stop  when  they  get  tired,  and  arrive  when  God 
pleases.  They  live  on  plantains — roasted,  boiled,  and  fried ;  and  in  the 
way  of  food,  a  yucca  is  their  greatest  good.  Talking  with  a  young 
Indian,  who  had  a  light  load,  and  kept  up  with  me  very  well,  I  was 
struck  with  the  comparative  value  of  things.  A  Londoner,  who  has 
been  absent  for  some  time  from  his  favorite  city,  and  subjected  to  some 
privations  on  that  account,  could  not  have  spoken  of  the  elegances  and 
comforts  of  London  with  more  enthusiasm  than  my  companion  spoke 
of  Pueblo  Viejo,  a  settlefnent  of  half  a  dozen  Indians,  which  we  were 
approaching.  "There  are  plant&ins,"  said  he;  "there  are  yuccas;  there 
is  everything" — {JTa>/  2Jicitanos,  haij  yuccas,  Kay  todo) — and  I  really 
expected  to  be  surprised  and  pleased  when  I  arrived  at  Pueblo  Viejo. 
The  town,  in  fact,  consisted  of  a  single  hut,  with  a  plantain,  grove,  a 
small  patch  of  yuccas,  and  another  of  sugar-cane.  In  several  places 
near  by,  people  were  felling  the  trees  and  forming  chacras.  The  road 
lay  sometimes  across  and  sometimes  along  these  huge  trees ;  and  I 
envied  the  bare  feet  and  firm  step  of  my  companion,  feeling  that  my 
tired  legs  and  muddy  boots  might,  at  any  moment,  play  me  a  slippery 
trick,  and  cost  me  a  broken  leg  or  sprained  ankle. 

At  eleven  we  arrived  at  Juana  del  Rio,  a  settlement  of  five  or  sis 
houses,  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  named  after  the  lady  of  Seiior 
Martins,  whom  we  met  at  Cocheros.  The  houses  were  all  shut  up,  and 
nobody  seemed  to  be  at  home.  Here  we  crossed  the  river,  (one  hundred 
yards  broad,  smooth,  and  deep,)  and  walked  down  the  left  bank  about 
half  a  mile  to  the  pueblo  of  San  Antonio  del  Tingo  Maria.  Tingo  is 
the  Indian  term  for  the  junction  of  two  rivers,  the  Monzon  emptying 
into  the  Huallaga  just  above  this.  The  governor,  an  intelligent  and 
modest  young  man,  a  former  friend  of  Ijurra,  welcomed  us  cordially 
and  gave  us  a  capital  breakfast  of  chicken  broth. 


132  ITINERARY. 

CHAPTER  VII. 

Itinerary — Tingo    Maria — Vampires — Blow-guns — Canoe    navigation — Shooting 

monkeys — Tocache^Sion — Salt  Mils  of  Pilluana. 

• 

The  following  table  gives  the  distance  between  Lima  and  the  head  of 

canoe  navigation  on  the  Huallaga  river : 

From  Lima  to  Chaclacayo        .         -         -        .         - 

«  "     to  Santa  Ana 

"  «  to  Surco         -         -         -         -    ,    - 

«  "  to  San  Mateo          -         -         - 

"    •    "  to  Acchahuarcu      -         -         -         -        - 

"  "  to  Morococha         -        -        .        .        - 

«  "     to  Oroya 

"  "     to  Tarma - 

**  "     to  Palcamayo 

"  "  to  Junin         ------ 

"  "  to  Carhuamayo       -         -         -         -         - 

"  "  to  Cerro  Pasco       -         -        -         -        - 

"  "  to  Caxamarquilla    -         -         -         -        - 

«  "     to  San  Rafael 

"  "     to  Ambo 

*'  "     to  Huanuco 

"  "    to  Acomayo 

"  "     to  Chinchao 

"  "  to  Chibuangala       .         -         -         -         - 

«  "     to  La  Cueva 

"  "     to  Tinffo  Maria 


This  distance  of  three  hundred  and  thirty-five  miles  may  be  shortened 
twenty-eight  by  going  direct  from  Lima  to  Cerro  ?'asco.  (We  passed 
round  by  Tarma.)  The  traveller  will  find  that  the  distance  is  divided 
in  the  table  into  days'  journeys  nearly.  Thus  it  will  cost  him,  with 
loaded  mules,  twenty-one  days  to  reach  the  head  of  canoo  navigation 
on  the  Iluallaga  by  this  route,  and  nineteen  by  the  other.  The  last 
thirty  miles  between  Chibuangala  and  Tingo  Maria  are  travelled  on 
foot,  though  there  would  be  no  difliculty  in  opening  a  mule-road. 


18  miles. 

10 

(( 

18 

(( 

18 

(( 

13 

(( 

12 

(( 

17 

(( 

16 

u 

15 

(( 

18 

u 

15 

u 

20 

<( 

15 

« 

15 

(( 

20 

u 

15 

(( 

14 

(( 

16 

u 

20 

u 

20 

a 

10 

u 

335 

u 

TINGO  MARIA.  133 

Any  tiumber  of  mules  may  be  had  in  Lima  at  a  hire  of  about  seventy- 
five  cents  a  day.  I  paid  more;  but  this  was  to  be  expected,  for  I 
bargained  with  the  muleteers  that  they  -vm-e  to  stop  Mere  I  pleased, 
and  as  long  as  I  pleased.  The  feed  of  a  mule  will  average  twelve  and 
a  half  cents  per  day.     The  load  is  two  hundred  and  sixty  pounds. 

It  would  be  difficult  to  persuade  a  muleteer  to  take  a  traveller  all  the 
distance.  They  do  not  like  to  leave  their  own  heat^  and  the  traveller 
has  to  change  his  mules,  on  an  average,  every  hundred  miles. 

The  passage  of  the  Cordillera  at  the  season  of  the  year  when  we 
crossed  is  neither  very  tedious  nor  laborious.  In  fact,  we  enjoyed  much 
the  magnificent  scenery ;  we  were  pleased  with  the  manners  and  habits 
of  a  primitive  people ;  and  we  met  hospitality  and  kindness  everywhere. 
In  the  season  of  the  rains,  however,  the  passage  must  be  both  difficult 
and  dangerous. 

August  2. — Tingo  Maria  is  a  prettily-situated  village,  of  forty-eight 
able  bodied  men,  and  an  entire  population  of  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
eight.  This  includes  those  who  are  settled  at  Juana  del  Rio  and  the 
houses  within  a  mile  or  two. 

The  pueblo  is  situated  in  a  plain  on  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
•which  is  about  six  miles  in  length,  and  three  miles  in  its  broadest  part, 
where  the  mountains  back  of  it  recede  in  a  semi-circle  from  the  river. 
The  height  above  the  level  of  the  sea  is  two  thousand  two  hundred  and 
sixty  feet.  The  productions  of  the  plain  are  sugar-cane,  rice,  cotton, 
tobacco,  indigo,  maize,  sweet  potatoes,  yuccas,  sachapapa,  or  potato  of 
the  woods,  (the  large,  mealy,  purple-streaked  tuberous  root  of  a  vine,  in 
taste  like  a  yam,  and  very  good  food.)  The  woods  are  stocked  with 
game — such  as  pumas,  or  American  tigers ;  deer ;  peccary,  or  wild 
hog;  ronsoco,  or  river  hog;  monkeys,  &c.  For  birds — are  several 
varieties  of  "  curassow^''  a  large  bird,  something  like  a  turkey,  but  with, 
generally,  a  red  bill,  a  crest,  and  shining  blue-black  plumage ;  a  delicate 
"pava  del  monte^''  or  wild  turkey;  a  great  variety  of  parrots;  with 
large,  black,  wild  ducks,  and  cormorants.  There  are  also  rattlesnakes 
and  vipers.  But  even  with  all  these,  I  would  advise  no  tiaveller  to 
trust  to  his  gun  for  support.  The  woods  are  so  thick  and  tangled  with 
undergrowth  that  no  one  but  an  Indian  can  penetrate  them,  and  no 
eyes  but  those  of  an  Indian  could  see  the  game.  Even  he  only  hunts 
from  necessity,  and  will  rarely  venture  into  the  thick  forest  alone,  for 
fear  of  the  tiger  or  the  viper.  There  are  also  good  and  delicate  fish  in 
the  river,  but  in  no  great  abundance. 

The  inhabitants  are  of  a  tribe  called  Cholones,  which  was  once  large 
and  powerful.     I  like  their  character  better  than  that  of  any  Indians 


134  THE    VAMPIRE. 

■wliom  I  afterwards  met  with.  They  are  good  tempered,  cheerful,  and 
sober,  and  by  far  the  largest  and  finest-looking  of  the  aborigines  that  I 
have  encounter?d.  They  are  obedient  to  the  church  and  attentive  to 
her  ceremonies ;  and  are  more  advanced  than  common  in  civilization, 
using  no  paint  as  an  ornament,  but  only  staining  their  arms  and  legs 
with  the  juice  of  a  fruit  called  huitoc,  that  gives  a  dark,  blue  dye,  as  a 
protection  against  the  sand-flies,  which  are  abundant,  and  a  great  nui- 
sance. The  place  is  generally  very  healthy.  The  common  diseases 
are  lymphatic  swellings  of  the  body  and  limbs,  (supposed  to  be  caused 
by  exposure  to  the  great  humidity  of  the  atmosphere  while  fishing  at 
night,)  and  sarna,  (a  cutaneous  affection,  which  covers  the  body  with 
sores,  making  the  patient  a  loathsome  object.)  These  sores  dry  up  and 
come  ofi"  in  scabs,  leaving  blotches  on  the  skin,  so  that  an  Indian  is 
frequently  seen  quite  mottled.  I  imagine  it  is  caused  by  want  of  clean- 
liness, and  the  bites  of  the  sand-flies.  -They  take,  as  a  remedy,  the  dried 
root  of  a  small  tree  called  sarnango,  grated  and  mixed  with  water. 
It  is  said  to  have  a  powerfully-intoxicating  and  stupefying  effect,  and  to 
cause  the  skin  to  peal  oft'. 

The  huitoc  is  a  nut-like  fruit,  about  the  size  of  a  common  black 
walnut  with  its  outer  covering.  It  is,  when  ripe,  soft,  of  a  russet  color 
outside,  and  filled  with  a  dark  purple  pulp  and  small  seeds.  The  tree 
is  slender,  and  some  fifteen  or  twenty  feet  high,  shooting  out  broad 
leaves,  with  the  fruit  growing  at  their  base  and  underneath,  like  the 
bread  fruit.  There  is  also  here  a  small  tree  called  afiil,  or  indigo,  with 
a  leaf  narrow  at  its  base  and  broad  near  the  extremity,  which  yields  as 
deep  a  dye  as  the  plant.  There  are  also  gay  and  fragrant  flowers  in 
the  gardens  of  the  Indians. 

Ijurra  shot  a  large  bat,  of  the  vampire  species,  measuring  about  two 
feet  across  the  extended  wings.  This  is  a  very  disgii^ting  looking  ani- 
mal, though  its  fur  is  very  delicate,  and  of  a  glossy,  rich  maroon  color. 
Its  mouth  is  amply  provided  with  teeth,  looking  like  that  of  a  minia- 
ture tiger.  It  has  two  long  and  sharp  tusks  in  the  front  part  of  each 
jaw,  with  two  smaller  teeth,  like  those  of  a  hare  or  sheep,  between  the 
tusks  of  the  upper  jaw,  and  four  (much  smaller)  between  those  of  the 
lower.  There  are  also  teeth  back  of  the  tusks,  extending  far  back  into 
the  mouth.  The  nostrils  seem  fitted  as  a  suction  apparatus.  Above 
them  is  a  triangular,  cartilaginous  snout,  nearly  half  an  inch  long,  and 
a  quarter  broad  at  the  base  ;  and  below  them  is  a  semi-circular  flap,  of 
nearly  the  same  breadth,  but  not  so  long.  I  suppose  these  might 
be  placed  over  the  puncture  made  by  the  teeth,  and  the  air  underneath 
exhausted  by  the  nostrils,  thus  making  them  a  very  perfect  cupping- 


THE    BLOW-GUN. 


135 


glass.     I  never  lieard  it  doubted,  until  my  return  Lome,  that  these  ani- 
mals were  blood-suckers ;  but  tlie  distinguished  naturalist,  Mr.  T.  R. 
Peale,  tells  me  that  no  one  has  ever  seen  them  engaged  in  the  operation, 
and  that  he  has  made  repeated  attempts  for  that  purpose,  but  without 
success.     On  one  occasion,  when  a  companion  had  lost*a  good  deal  of 
blood,  the  doors  and  windows  of  the  house  in  which  his  party  was  lying 
were  closed,  and  a  number  of  these  bats,  that  were  clinging  to  the  roof, 
killed ;  but  none  of  them  were  found  gorged,  or  with  any  signs  of  having 
been  engaged  in  blood- sucking.     I  also  observed  no  apparatus  proper 
for  making  a  delicate  puncture.     The  tusks  are  quite  as  large  as  those 
of  a  rat,  and,  if  used  in  the  ordinary  manner,  would  make  four  wounds 
at  once,  producing,  I  should  think,  quite  sufficient  pain  to  awaken  the 
most  profound  sleeper.      Never  having  heard  this  doubt,  it  did  not 
occur  to  me  to  ask  the  Indians  if  they  had  ever  seen  the  bat  sucking, 
or  to  examine  the  wounds  of  the  horses  that  I  had  seen  bleeding  from 
this  supposed  cause.    On  one  occasion  I  found  my  blanket  spotted  with 
blood,  and  supposed  that  the  bat  (having  gorged  himself  on  the  horses 
outside)  had  flown  into  the  house,  and,  fastening  himself  to  the  thatch 
■  over  me,  had  disgorged  upon  my  covering  and  then,  flown  out.     There 
was  no  great  quantity  of  blood,  there  being  but  five  or  six  stains  on  the 
blanket,  such  as  would  have  been  made  by  large  drops.     I  presumed, 
lik^vise,  from  the  fact  of  the  drops  being  scattered  irrregularly  over  a 
small  surface,  that  the  bat  had  been  hanging  by  his  feet  to  the  thatch, 
and  swinging  about.     The  discovery*  of  the  drops  produced  a  sensation 
of  deep  disgust ;  and  I  have  frequently  been  unable  to  sleep  for  fear  of 
the  filthy  beast.     Every  traveller  in  these  countries  should  learn  to  sleep 
with  body  and  head  enveloped  in  a  blanket,  as  the  Indians  do.' 

I  saw  here,  for  the  first  time,  the  blow-gun  of  the  Indians,  called,  by 
the  Spaniards,  cerhatana  ;  by  the  Portuguese  of  the  nw&v,  gramtana, 
(a  corruption,  I  imagine,  of  the  former,  as  I  find  no  such  Portuguese 
word ;)  and  by  the  Indians,  pucuna.  It  is  made  of  any  long,  straight 
piece  of  wood,  generally  of  a  species  of  palm  called  chonta — a  heavy, 
elastic  wood,  of  which  bows,  clubs,  and  spears  are  also  made.  The  pole 
or  staff",  about  eight  feet  in  length,  and'  two  inches  diameter  near  the 
mouMi  end,  (tapering  down  to  half  an  inch  at  the  extremity,)  is  dinded 
longitudinally  ;  a  canal  is  hollowed  out  along  the  centre  of  each  part, 
which  is  well  smoothed  and  polished  by  rubbing  with  fine  sand  and 
wood.  The  two  parts  are  then  brought  together ;  'nicely  woolded  with 
twine';  and  the  whole  covered  with  wax,  mixed  with  some  resin  of  the 
forest,  to  make  it  hard.  A  couple  of  boar's  teeth  are  fitted  on  each  side 
of  the  mouth  end,  and  one  of  the  curved  front  teeth  of  a  small  animal 


136  THE    BLOW-GUN.  * 

resembling  a  cross  between  a  squirrel  and  a  bare,  is  placed  on  top  for  a*' 
sigbt.  Tlie  arrow  is  made  of  any  ligbt  wood,  generally  tbe  wild  cane, 
or  tbe  middle  fibre  of  a  species  of  palm-leaf,  wbich  is  about  a  foot  in 
lengtb,  and  of  tbe  tbickness  of  an  ordinary  lucifer  matcb.  Tbo'end  of 
tlie  arrow,  wbifli  is  placed  next  to  tbe  moutb,  is  wrapped  witb  a  ligbt, 
delicate  sort  of  wild  cotton,  w'liicb  grows  in  a  pod  upon  a  large  tree,  and 
is  called  huimba;  and  tbe  otber  end,  very  sbarply  pointed,  is  dipped  in 
a  vegetable  poison  prepared  from  tbe  juice  of  tbe  creeper,  called  bcjuco 
de  amhihuctsca,  mixed  witb  aji,  or  strong  red  pepper,  harhasco,  sarnatu/o, 
and  wbatever  substances  tbe  Indians  know  to  be  deleterious.  Tbe 
marksman,  wben  using  bis  pucuna,  instead  of  stretcbing  out  tbe  left 
liand  along  tbe  body  of  tbe  tube,  places  it  to  bis  moutb  by  grasping  it, 
witb  botb  bands  togetber,  close  to  tbe  moutb-piece,  in  sucb  a  manner 
tbat  it  requires  considerable  strengtb  in  tbe  arms  to  bold  it  out  at  all, 
mucb  less  steadily.  If  a  practised  marksman,  be  will  kill  a  small  bird  at 
tbirty  or  forty  paces.  In  an  experiment  tbat  I  saw,  tbe  Indian  beld  tbe 
pu(?una  borizontally,  and  tbe  arrow  blown  from  it  stuck  in  tbe  ground 
at  tbirty-eigbt  paces.  Commonly  tbe  Indian  has  quite  an  affection  for 
bis  gun,  and  many  superstitious  notions  about  it.  I  could  not  persuade 
one  to  sboot  a  very  pretty  black  and  yellow  bird  for  me  because  it  was 
a  carrion  bird  ;  and  tbe  Indian  said  tbat  it  would  deteriorate  and  make 
useless  all  tbe  poison  in  bis  gourd.  Neitber  will  he  discharge  "bis 
pucuna  at  a  snake,  for  fear  of  the  gun  being  made  crooked  like  the 
reptile ;  and  a  fowling-piece  or  ritle*tbat  has  once  been  discharged  at  an 
alligator  is  considered  entirely  worthless.  A  round  gourd,  witb  a  bole 
in  it  for  tbe  liuimba,  and  a  joint  of  tbe  cafla  brava  as  a  quiver,  com- 
pletes tbe  bunting  apparatus, 

August  3. — Went  to  church.  Tbe  congregation — men,  women,  and 
children — numbered  about  fifty  ;  tbe  service  was  conducted  by  the  gov- 
ernor, assisted  by  tbe  alcalde,  A  little  naked,- bow  legged  Indian  child, 
of  two  or  three  years,  and  Ijurra's  pointer  J'uppy,  which  he  had  brought 
all  the  way  from  Lima  on  bis  saddle-bow, worried  tbe  congregation  witb 
their  tricks  and  gambols;  but  altogether  they  were  attentive  to  their 
prayers,  and  devout,  I  enjoyea  exceedingly  the  public  worship  uf  (Jod 
with  these  rude  children  of  the  forest;  and,  although  they  ])robably 
understood  little  of  what  they  were  about,  I  thought  I  could  see  its 
bumani/ing  and  fraternizing  effect  upon  all. 

At  night  we  had  a  ball  at  the  governor's  bouse.  Tlie  alcalde,  who 
was  a  trump,  produced  his  fiddle ;  anotlier  liad  a  rude  sort  of  guitar,  or 
banjo ;  and  under  the  excitement  of  his  music,  and  tbe  agiiadiente  of 
tbe  governor,  who  bad  bad  bis  cane  ground  in  anticipation  of  our  arrival, 


THE  EMBARKATION.  137 

we  danced  till  eleven  o'clock.  The  custom  of  the  dance  requires  that  a 
gentleman  should  choQse  a  lady  and  dance  with  her,  in  the  middle  of 
the  floor,  till  she  gives  over,  (the  company  aroimd  clapping  their  hands 
in  time  to  the  music,  and  cheeriitg  the  dancers  with  vivas  at  any  par- 
ticular display  of  agility  or  spirit  in  the  dance.)  He  then  presents  his 
partner  with  a  glass  of  grog,  leads  her  to  a  seat,  and  chooses  another. 
When  he  tires  there  is  a  general  drink,  and  the  lady  has  the  choice. 
The  Senor  Commandante  was  in  considerable  request ;  and  a  fat  old 
lady,  who  would  not  dance  with  anybody  else,  nearly  killed  me.  The 
governor  discharged  our  guns  several  times,  and  let  off  some  rockets 
tiiat  we  had  brought  from  Huanuco  ;  and  doubt  if  Tmgo  Maria  had 
ever  witnessed  such  a  brilliant  affair  before. 

Aiu/ust  4. — I  w^aked  up  with  pain  in  the  legs  a^id  headache  from 
dancing,  and  found  our  men  and  canoes'  ready  for  embarkation.  After 
breakfast  the  governor  and  his  wife,  (though  I  greviously  fear  that  there 
had  been  no  intervention  of  the  priest  in  the  matter  of  the  union,)  to- 
gether w^ith  several  of  our  partners  of  the  previous  night,  accompanied 
us  to  the  port.  After  loading  the  CAnoes  the  governor  made  a  short 
address  to  the  canoe-men,  telling  them  that  we  "  were  no  common  per- 
sons ;  that  they  were  to  have  a  special  care  of  us :  to  be  very  obedient, 
&c.,  and  that  he  would  put  up  daily  prayers  for  their  safe  return ;" 
whereupon,  after  a  glass  all  round,  from  a  bottle  brought  down  specially 
by  bur  hostess,  and  a  hearty  embrace  of  the  governor,  his  lady,  and  my 
fat  friend  of  the  night  before,  we  embarked  and  shoved  oft' ;  the  boat- 
men blowing  their  horns  as  we  drifted  rapidly  down  with  the  current  of 
the  river,  and  the  party  on  shore  waving  their  hats  and  shouting  their 
adieus. 

We  had  two  canoes  ;  the  largest  about  forty  feet  long,  by  two  and 
a  half  broad  ;  hollowed  out  from  a  single  log,  and  manned  each  by  five 
men  and  a  boy.  They  are  conducted  by  a  puntero,  or  bowman,  who 
looks  out  for  rocks  or  sunken  trees  ahead  ;  Skpopero,  or  steersman,  Avho 
stands  on  a  little  platform  at  the  stern  of  the  boat  and  guides  her 
motions ;  and  the  hogas  or  rowers,  who  stand  up  to  paddle,  having  one 
foot  in  the  bottom  of  the  boat  and  the  other  on  the  gunwale.  When 
the  river  was  smooth  and  free  from  obstructions,  we  drifted  with  the 
current ;  the  men  sitting  on  the  tranks  and  boxes,  chatting  and  laugh- 
mg  w^ith  each  other ;  but,  as  we  approached  a  mal-paso,  their  serious 
looks,  and  the  firm  position  in  which  each  one  planted  himself  at  his 
post,  showed  that  work  was  to  be  done.  I  felt  a  little  nervous  at  first ; 
but  when  we  had  fairly  entered  the  pass,  the  rapid  gesture  of  the  pun- 
tero,  indicating  the  channel ;  the  elegant  and  grapeful  position  of  the 


138  NAVIGATIOX. 

popero,  giving  tlie  boat  a  broad  sheer  with  the  sweep  of  his  long  paddle; 
the  dc,«jH'rnte  exertions  of  the  bogas ;  thf  railroad  rush  of  tlie  canoe;  and 
the  wild,  triumphant,  screaming  laugh  of  the  Indians,  as  \vu  shot  past 
the  danger,  made  a  Rcene  that  was  niach  too  exciting  to  admit  of  any 
other  etnotiDn  than  that  of  admiration. 

"NVo  p;i>s«.'d  many  of  these  to-day,  and  were  well  soaked  by  the 
canoes  taking  in  water  on  each  side ;  some  of  them  were  mere  smooth 
declivities — inclined  planes  of  gravel,  witli  only  three  or  four  inches  of 
water  on  them,  so  that  the  men  had  to  get  overboard,  keep  the  canoos 
head  on  and  drag  them  down.  Tlte  average  velocity  of  the  river  here 
is  three  and  a  half  miles  to  the  hour;  but  when  it  da.>*hes  down  one  of 
these  declivities,  it  must  be  much  more.  The  breadth  of  the  river  is  a 
constantly  varying  quantity,  probably  never  over  one  hundred  and  tifty 
yards,  and  never  under  thirty  ;  banks  low,  and  covered  with  trees, 
bushes,  and  wild  cane.  There  were  hills  on  each  side,  some  distance 
from  the  bank,  but  now  and  then  coming  down  to  it.  It  is  almost 
impossible  to  estimate  the  distance  travelled  with  any  degree  of  accu- 
racy. The  force  of  the  current  is  very  variable,  and  the  Indians  very 
irregulupin  their  manner  of  rowing — sometimes  ]>ad(lling  half  an  hour 
with  great  vigor,  and  then  sutlering  the  lK)at  to  drift  with  the  tide. 
Averaging  the  current  at  three  and  a  half  miles  the  hour,  and  the  row* 
ing  at  one  and  a  half,  with  nine  hours  of  actual  travel,  we  have  forty- 
five  miles  for  a  day's  journey  at  this  season.  I  have  estimated  the 
number  of  travelling  hours  at  nine,  for  we  get  off  generally  at  !>  a. 
m.,  and  stop  at  5  p.  m.  "\Vc  spend  two  hours  for  breakfast,  in  the 
middle  of  the  day,  and  another  hour  is  lost  at  the  shalK^ws  of  the  river, 
or  stojiping  to  get  a  shot  at  an  animal  or  bird. 

At  half-past  five  we  cami>c«l  on  the  U-ach.  The  first  busine-ss  (»f  the 
boatmen  when  the  canoe  is  secured,  is  to  go  off  to  the  wo«xls  and  cut 
stakes  and  palm  branches  to  nuike  a  house  for  the  jxitrou.  Hy  slicking 
long  pok«  in  the  sand,  clH>pping  then>  half  in  two,  about  five  feet  above 
tlie  ground,  and  bending  the  ijpper  parts  tojretlier,  they  make,  in  a  few 
minutes,  the  frame  of  a  little  shanty,  which,  thii^kly  thatched  with 
palm  leaves,  will  keep  off  the  dew  or  an  ordinary  rain.  S»me  bring 
Uie  drifl-wood  tliat  is  lying  about  the  beach  and  make  a  fire ;  the  jiro- 
visionH  artj  c<Mjked  and  eaten;  the  Ixnlding  laid  down  u|>on  the  Kavi-s 
that  cover  the  tliior  of  the  shanty  ;  tin*  niot^'piito  nettings  spread  :  and, 
after  a  cup  of  coffee,^  glass  of  grog,  and  a  cigar,  (if  they  are  to  bo 
hwl,)  cverylxMly  retire*  for  the  night  by  eight  o'clock.  The  Indiana 
sleep  around  the  hut,  each  under  his  narrow  cotton  mos<{uito  curtain, 
which  glistcD  in  the.  moon-light  like  so  many  tomb-stonca.    This  WM 


ANIMALS.  139 

pleasant  enough  when  provisions  were  plenty  and  the  weather  good ; 
but  when  there  was  no  coffee  or  brandy,  the  cigars  had  given  out,  and 
there  a\*  s  a  slim  allowance  of  only  salt  fish  and  plantains,  with  one  of 
those  nights  of  heavy  rain  that  are  frequent  upon  the  Maranon,  I  could 
not  help  calling  to  mind,  with  some  bitterness  of  spirit,  the  comforts 
of  the  ship-of-war  that  I  had  left,  to  say  nothing  of  the  luxuries  of 
home. 

August  6.— Started  at  eight.  Eiver  seventy  yards  broad,  nine  feet 
deep,  pebbly  bottom ;  current  three  miles  per  hour.  We  find  in  some 
places,  where  hills  come  down  to  the  river,  as  much  as  thirty  feet 
of  depth.  There  are  some  quite  high  hills  on  the  right-hand  side,  that- 
might  be  called  mountains ;  they  run  north  and  south.  I  was  sur- 
prised that  we  saw  no  animals  all  day,  but  only  river  birds — such  as 
black  ducks,  cormorants,  and  king-fishers ;  also  many  parrots  of  various 
kinds  and  brilliant  plumage,  but  they  always  kept  out  of  shot.  We 
camped  at  half-past  five,  tired  and  low-spirited,  having  had  nothing  to 
eat  all  day  but  a  little  rice  boiled  with  cheese  early  in  the  morning. 
My  wrists  were  sore  and  painful  from  sun-burn,  and  the  sand-flies  were 
very  ti-oublesome.  Heavy  clouds,  with  thunder  and  lightningi  in  the 
N.  W.  In  the  night,  fresh  breeze  from  that  quarter.  AVe  heard 
ligers  and  monkeys  during  the  night,  and  saw  the  tiger-tracks  near  the 
camp  next  morning. 

August  6. — Soon  after  starting  we  saw  a  fine  doe  coming  down 
towards  the  river.  We  steered  in,  and  got  within  about  eighty  yards 
of  her,  when  Ijurra  and  I  fired  together,  the  guns  loaded  with  a  couple 
of  rifle-balls  each.  The  animal  stood  quite  still  for  a  few  minutes,  and 
then  walked  slowly  off  towards  the  bushes.  I  gave  my  gun,  loaded 
with  three. rifle-balls,  to  the  puntero,  who  got  a  close  shot,  but  without 
effect.  One  of  the  balls,  a  little  flattened,  was  picked  up  close  to  where 
the  deer  stood.  These  circumstances  made  the  Indians  doubt  if  she 
were  a  deer;  and  I  judge,  from  their  gestures  and  exclamations,  that 
they  thought  it  was  some  evil  spirit  that  was  ball-proof.  I  imagine 
that  the  ball  was  flattened  either  by  passing  through  the  branch  of  a 
brush  or  striking  some  particularly  hard  bone  of  the  animal,  or  it  might 
have  been  jammed  in  the  gun  by  the  other  balls. 

These  Indians  have  very  keen  senses,  and  see  and  hear  things  that 
are  inaudible  and  invisible  to  us.  Our  canoe-men  this  morning  com- 
menced paddling  with  great  vigor.  I  asked  the  cause,  and  they  said 
that  they  heard  monkeys  ahead.  I  think  we  must  have  paddled  a 
mile  before  I  heard  the  sound  they  spoke  of.  When  we  came  up  to 
them,  we  found  a  gang  of  large  red  monkeys  in  some  tall  trees  on  the 


140  MONKEY  HUNTING. 

river-side,  making  a  noise  like  the  grunting  of  a  herd  of  enraged  hogs. 
We  landed,  and  in  a  few  minutes  I  found  myself  beating  my  way 
through  the  thick  undergrowth,  and  hunting  monkeys  with  a?  much 
excitement  as  I  had  ever  hunted  squirrels  Avhen  a  boy.  I  had  no  balls 
•with  me,  and  my  No.  3  shot  only  served  to  sting  them  from  their 
elevated  position  in  the  tops  of  the  trees,  and  bring  them  within  reach 
of  the  pucunas  of  the  Indians.  They  got  .two  and  I  one,  after  firing 
about  a  dozen  shots  into  him.  I  never  saw  animals  so  tenacious  of 
life;  this  one  was,  as  the  Indians  expressed  it,  lathed  in  shot,  (bailado 
en  tnunicion.)  These  monkeys  were  about  the  size  of  a  common  ter- 
rier-dog, and  were  clad  with  a  long,  soft,  maroon-colored  hair ;  they 
are  called  cotomonos,  from  a  large  goitre  (coto)  under  the  jaw.  This  is 
an  apparatus  of  thin  bone  in  the  wind-pipe,  by  means  of  which 
they  make  their  peculiar  noise.  The  male,  called  curaca,  (which 
is  also  the  appellation  of  the  chief  of  a  tribe  of  Indians,)  has  a  long 
red  beard.  They  are  called  guariha  in  Brazil,  where  they  are  said 
to  be  black  as  well  as  red;  and  I  believe  they  are  of  the  species 
commonly  called  howling  monkeys. 

It  is^carcely  worth  while  to  say  that  the  Indians  use  parts  of  this 
animal  for  the  cure  of  diseases,  for  I  know  no  substance  that  could 
possibly  be  used  as  a  remedial  agent  that  they  do  not  use  for  that 
purpose.  The  mother  carries  the  young  upon  her  back  until  it  is  able 
to  go  alone.  If  the  dam  dies,  the  sire  takes  charge.  There  are  vast 
numbere  in  all  the  course  of  the  river,  and  no  day  passes  to  the  traveller 
that  they  are  not  heard  or  seen. 

"When  I  arrived  at  the  beach  with  my  game,  I  found  that  the  Indians 
had  made  a  fire  and  were  roasting  theirs.  They  did  not  take  the  trouble 
to  skin  and  clean  the  animal,  but  simply  put  him  in  the  fire,  and,  when 
well  scorched,  took  him  off  and  cut  pieces  from  the  fleshy  parts  with  a 
knife;  if  these  were  not  sufficiently  well  done,  they  roasted  them  farther 
on  little  stakes  stuck  up  before  the  fire.  I  tried  to  eat  a  piece,  but  it 
was  so  tough  that  my  teeth  jvould  make  no  imi)ression  upon  it.  The 
one  I  killed  was  cnciente  ;  the  foetus  about  double  the  size  of  a  wharf- 
rat.  I  wished  to  preserve  it,  but  it  was  too  largo  for  any  bottles  I  had ; 
•whereupon  the  Indians  roasted  and  ate  it  without  ceremony. 

We  also  saw  to-day  several  river  hogs,  and  had  an  aniinatotl  eli.'iso 
after  one,  which  we  encountered  on  the  river-side,  inunediately  opposite 
a  nearly  precipitous  bank  of  loose  earth,  which  crumbled  under  his  feet 
80  that  ho  could  not  climb  it.  lie  hesitated  to  take  the  water  in  face  of 
the  canoes,  so  that  we  thought  we  had  him  ;  but  after  a  little  play  up 
and  down  the  river-side,  ho  broke  his  way  through  the  lino  of  his  ad* 


MONKEY    SOUP.  141 

versaries,  capsizing  two  Indians  as  he  went,  and  took  to  the  water.  This 
animal  is  amphibious,  about  the  size  of  a  half-grown  hog,  and  reminded 
me,  in  his  appearance  and  movements,  of  the  rhinoceros.  He  is  also 
red,  and  I  thought  it  remarkable  that  the  only  animals  we  had  -een — 
the  deer,  the  monkeys,  and  the  hog — should  be  all  of  this  color.  It  is 
called  rmsoco  here,  and  capkiara  in  Brazil.  In  these  Brazilian  names 
I  follow  the  speUing  of  Baena, 

We  also  heard  the  barking  of  dogs  on  the  right  or  Infidel  side  of  the 
river,  in  contradistinction  to  the  other,  which  is  called  La  parte  de  la 
cristiandad,  supposed  to  be  the  dogs  of  the  Cashibos  Indians  of  the 
Pachitea. 

Parrots  and  other  birds  were  also  more  numerous  than  before. 

"We  found  the  river  to-day  much  choked  with  islands,  shoals,  and 
groimded  drift-wood  ;  camped  at  half-past  five,  and  supped  upon  mon- 
key soup.  The  monkey,  as  it  regards  toughness,  was  monkey  still ;  but 
the  liver,  of  which  I  ate  nearly  the  whole,  was  tender  and  good.  Jocko, 
however,  had  his  revenge,  for  I  nearly  perished  of  nightmare.  Some 
devil,  with  arms  as  nervous  as  the  monkey's,  had  me  by  the  throat,  and, 
staring  on  me  with  his  cold,  cruel  eye,  expressed  his  determination  to 
hold  on  to  the  death.  I  thought  it  hard  to  die  by  the  grasp  of  this 
fiend  on  the  banks  of  the  strange  river,  and  so  early  in  my  course;  and 
upon  making  a  desperate  effort,  and  shaking  him  oft",  I  found  that  I  had 
forgotten  to  take  ofi"  my  cravat,  which  was  choking  me  within  an  inch 
of  my  life. 

Anr/ust  1. — We  got  ofi"  at  half-past  eight ;  at  a  quarter  to  ten  passed 
the  port  of  Uchiza.  This  is  a  village  nine  miles  from  the  river.  The 
port  itself,  like  that  of  Tingo  Maria,  is  a  shed  for  the  accommodation  of 
canoes  and  passengers.  Nearly  all  the  towns  on  the  river  are  built  six 
or  eight  miles  from  the  banks,  on  account  of  the  overflow  of  the  country 
when  the  river  is  full.  Some  hill  on  the  bank  is  generally  selected  as 
the  port,  and  a  road  is  made  thence  to  the  town.  This  hill  is  sometimes 
forty  feet  out  of  water,  and  sometimes  covered,  and  the  whole  land  be- 
tween it  and  the  town  overflowed.  At  a  quarter  past  ten  we  passed  the 
Quebrada,  or  ravine  of  Hainagua,  on  the  right.  A  small  stream  comes 
do\vn  this  ravine,  the  water  of  which  is  salt.  The  people  of  Uchiza 
ascend  it — a  day's  journey — to  a  salt  hill,  where  they  supply  themselves 
with  this  indispensable  article.  At  twenty  minutes  past  eleven  we 
passed  another ;  and  at  1  p.  m.  another,  where  the  people  of  Tocache  get 
their  salt.  It  is  a  day's  journey  from  Tocache  to  the  mouth  of  the 
Quebrada,  and  another  to  the  salt  hills. 

T<i-day  presented  a  remarkable  contrast  to  yesterday  for  sportsmen. 


142  TOCACHE. 


We  did  not  see  a  single  animal,  and  very  few  birds ;  even  parrots,  gen- 
erally so  plentiful,  were  scarce  to-day.  It  was  a  day  of  work;  the  men 
paddled  well,  and  we  must  have  made  seventy  miles.  On  approaching 
Tocache,  which  was  their  last  stage  with  us,  the  Indians  almost  deafened 
me  with  the  noise  of  their  horns.  These  horns  are  generally  made  of 
pieces  of  wood  hollowed  out  thin,  joined  together,  wrapped  with  twine, 
and  coated  with  wax.  They  are  shaped  like  a  blunderbuss,  and  are 
about  four  feet  long ;  the  mouth-piece .  is  of  reed,  and  the  sound  deep 
and  mellow.  The  Indians  always  make  a  great  noise  on  approaching 
any  place,  to  indicate  that  they  come  as  friends.  They  fancy  that  they 
might  otherwise  be  attacked,  as  hostile  parties  always  move  silently. 

We  arrived  at  five.  I  was  wearied  with  the  monotonous  day's  jour- 
ney and  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  anticipated  the  arrival  with  pleasure, 
thinking  that,  we  were  going  to'  stop  at  a  large  village  and  get  some- 
thing good  to  eat;  but  I  was  grievously  disappointed.  ,  We  arrived 
only  at  the  port,  which  was,  as  usual,  a  shed  on  a  hill ;  the  village  being 
nine  miles  off.  There  was  nothing  to  eat  here :  so  we  determined  to 
start  inland  and  see  what  we  could  pick  up.  A  rapid  walk  of  an  hour 
and  a  quarter  brought  us  to  Lamasillo,  which  I  had  been  told  was  a 
pueblo  of  whites,  but  which  we  found  to  be  but  a  single  house  with  a 
"platanal"  attached  to  it.  There  were  other  houses  near,  but  none 
within  sight.  I  had  been  under  the  impression  that  "pueblo"  meant 
a  village,  but  I  think  now  it  signifies  any  settled  country,  though  the 
houses  may  be  miles  apart.  With  much  persuasion  we  induced  the 
people  of  the  house  to  sell  us  a  couple  of  bottles  of  aguadiente  and  a 
pair  of  chickens.  The  governor  of  the  district  had  been  at  this  jilace 
within  the  hour,  but  was  gone  to  Tocache,  which  we  understood  to  be 
two  coceadas  further  on,  or  about  the  same  distance  that  we  had  come 
over  from  the  port  to  this  place.  Distance  is  frequently  estimated  by 
the  time  that  a  man  will  occupy  in  taking  a  chew  of  coca.  From  the 
distance  between  the  port  and  Lamasillo,  it  appears  that  a  chew  of 
•  coca  is  about  three-fourths  of  a  league,  or  thirty-seven  and  a  half 
minutes. 

We  walked  back  by  moonlight,  and  had  a  fowl  cooked  foilhwith ; 
which,  as  we  had  had  nothing  but  a  little  monkey  soup  early  in  the 
morning,  we  devoured  more  like  tigei"s  than  Christian  men.  We  found 
at  the  port  several  travelling  merchants  from  Moyobamba.  One  party 
had  been  to  Iluanuco  by  land,  v'th  a  cargo  of  straw  hats  and  tobacco, 
which  they  sold  at  about  fifty  per  cent,  advance  on  prime  cost.  This 
is  a  miserable  traffic,  for  the  round  trip  occupies  four  months,  and  is 
one  of  great  hardship.    The  other  party  were  going  by  the  river  in 


THE    PIJCUNA.  143 

canoes  to  Huanuco,  with  the  same  cargo,  and  in  addition  some  rice 
and  rare  birds.  Travellers  go  up  by  the  river  when  it  is  low,  and  by 
land  whep  the  river  is  high.  The  returning  party  were  going  dow;i  on 
balsas^  which  they  had  constructed  at  Tingo  Maria.  These  balsas  are 
logs  of  a  light  kind  of  wood,  called  balsa  wood,  placed  side  by  side, 
half  a  foot  apart,  and  secured  by  other  pieces  lashed  athwart  them.  A 
platform  raised  on  small  logs  is  elevated  amidships  for  the  cargo  to  rest 
on ;  and  the  rowers,  standing  upon  the  lower  logs,  have  their  feet  in 
the  water  all  the  time.  After  getting  clear  of  all  the  rapids  of  a  river, 
they. of  course  may  be  built  of  any  size,  and  comfortable  houses  erected 
on  them.  I  should  have  preferred  coming  down  the  Amazon  in  that 
way,  but  that  I  contemplated  ascending  other  rivers. 

We  made  our  beds  in  the  canoes  under  the  shed,  and,  tired  as  we 
were,  slept  comfortably  enough.  It  seems  a  merciful  dispensation  of 
Providence  that  the  sand-flies  go  to  bed  at  the  same  time  with  the 
people;  otherwise  I  think  one  could  not  live  in  this  country.  We  have 
not  yet  been  troubled  with  musquitoes.  The  sand-flies  are  here  called 
"  mosquitos,"  the  diminutive  of  mosca,  a  fly  ;  our  musquitoes  are  called 
sancudos.  The  sand-flies  are  very  troublesome  in  the  day,  and  one 
cannot  write  or  eat  in  any  comfort.  Everybody's  hands  in  this  country 
are  nearly  black  from  the  effects  of  their  bite,  which  leaves  a  little 
round  black  spot,  that  lasts  for  weeks.  It  is  much  better  to  bear  the 
sting  than  to  irritate  the  part  by  scratching  or  rubbino-. 

August  8. — I  sent  TjuiTa  to  Tocache  to  communicate  with  the 
governor,  while  I  spent  the  day  in  writing  up  my  journal,  and  dryino- 
the  equipnge  that  had  been  wetted  in  the  journey.  In  the  afternoon  I 
walked  into  the  woods  with  an  Indian,  for  the  purpose  of  seeing  him 
kill  a  bird  or  animal  with  his  pucuna.  I  admired  the  stealthy  and 
noiseless  manner  with  which  he  moved  through  the  woods,  occasionally 
castmg  a  wondering  and  reproachful  glance  at  me  as  I  would  catch  my 
foot  in  a  creeper  and  pitch  into  the  bushes  with  suflScient  noise  to 
alarm  all  the  game  within  a  mile  round.  At  last  he  pointed  out  to 
me  a  toucan,  called  by  the  Spaniards  predicador,  or  preacher,  sittino- 
on  a  branch  of  a  tree  out  of  the  reach  of  his  gun.  I  fired  and  brouo-ht 
hmi  down  with  a  broken  wing.  The  Indian  started  into  the  bushes 
after  him  ;  but,  finding  him  running,  he  came  back  to  me  for  his 
pucuna,  which  he  had  left  behind.  In  a  few  minutes  he  brought  the 
bird  to  me  with  an  arrow  sticking  in  his  throat.  The  bird  was  dead 
in  two  minutes  after  I  saw  it,  and  probably  in  two  and  a  half  minutes 
from  the  time  it  was  struck.  The  Indian  said  that  his  poison  was 
good,  but  that  it  was  in  a  manner  ejected  by  the  flow  of  blood,  which 


144  TOCACHE. 

covered  thebird's  breast,  and  wliicb  showed  that  a  large  blood-vessel  of 
the  neck  had  been  pierced.  I  do  not  know  if  his  reasoning  were  good 
or  iiot. 

Ijurra  returned  at  eight,  tired,  and  in  a  bad  humor.  He  reported 
that  he  had  hunted  the  governor  from  place  to  place  all  day  ;  had 
come  up  with  him  at  last  and  obtained  the  promise  that  we  should 
have  canoes  and  men  to  prosecute  our  journey.  My  companion,  who 
has  been  sub-prefect  or  governor  of  the  whole  province  which  we  are 
now  in,  (Mainas,)  and  who  has  appointed  and  removed  these  governors 
of  districts  at  pleasure,  finds  it  difficult  to  sue  where  he  had  formerly 
commanded.  He  consequently  generally  quarrels  with  those  in  author- 
ity ;  and  I  have  to  put  myself  to  some  trouble,  and  draw  largely  upon  my 
"  bon  homie"  to  reconcile  the  differences,  and  cool  down  the  heats,  which 
his  impatience  and  irritability  often  occasion.  He,  however,  did  good 
service  to  the  cause,  by  purchasing  a  hog  and  some  chickens,  which 
were  to  appear  to-morrow. 

Auffust  9. — We  had  people  to  work  killing  and  salting  our  hog. 
We  had  difficulty  in  getting  some  one  to  undertake  this  office,  but  the 
man  from  whom  we  purchased  the  hog  stood  our  friend,  and  brought 
down  his  family  from  Lamasillo  to  do  the  needful.  We  had  very  little 
benefit  from  our  experiment  in  this  way.  We  paid  eight  dollars  for 
the  hog,  twenty -five  cents  for  salt,  twenty-five  cents  to  Don  Isidro,  who 
brought  him  down  to  the  port,  and  fifty  cents  to  the  same  gentleman 
for  butchering  him.  The  wife  and  children  of  the  owner  took  their 
pay  for  salting  and  smoking  out  of  the  hog  himself.  Our  friends 
going  up  stream  (according  to  Ijurra)  stole  half,  and  what  was  left 
spoiled  before  we  could  eat  it. 

Everybody  is  a  Don  in  this  country.  Our  Lidian  boatmen,  at  least 
the  Poperos,  are  Dons  ;  and  much  ceremonious  courtesy  is  necessary  in 
intercourse  witjb  them.  I  have  to  treat  the  governors  of  the  districts 
with  all  manner  of  ceremony  ;  when,  while  he  exacts  this,  and  will  get 
sulky,  and  aflord  me  no  facilities  without  it,  he  will  entertain  the  proji- 
osition  to  go  along  with  me  as  my  servant. 

I  had  a  note  from  the  governor,  not  written  but  signed  by  himself, 
requesting  to  know  how  many  men  I  wanted,  and  saying  that  he  hoped 
to  see  us  in  the  pueblo  early  to-morrow.  We  excused  ourselves  from 
going  to  the  town,  and  requested  him  to  send  the  men  down  to  the 
port  for  their  pay.  This  he  would  not  do,  but  insisted  that  we  should 
pay  at  least  at  Lamasillo.  We  always  pay  in  advance,  and  the  boat- 
men generally  leave  their  cotton  cloth,  in  which  they  are  nearly  always 
paid,  with  their  wives.  These  hav6  preferred  their  pay  partly  in 
money. 


TIGERS.  145 

August  10.— The  party  for  Hiianuco  got  off  this  morning,  and  left 
the  shed  to  Ijurra  and  mc.  Whilst  bjithing  in  the  river,  I  saw  an 
animal  swimming  down  the  stream  towards  me,  which  I  took  to  be  a 
fox  or  cat  I  threw  stones  at  it,  and  it  swam  to  the  other  side  of  the 
river  and  took  to  the  forest.  Very  soon  after,  a  dog,  who  was  evidently 
in  chase,  came  swimming  down,  and  missing  the  chase  from  the  river, 
swam  round  in  circles  for  some  minutes  before  giving  it  up.  This 
animal,  from  my  description,  was  pronounced  to  be  an  ounce,  or  tiger- 
cat.  It  is  called  tigre  throughout  all  this  country,  but  is  never  so  large 
or  ferocious  as  the  African  tiger.  They  are  rather  spotted  like  the 
leopard,  than  strfped  like  the  tiger.  They  are  said,  when  hungry,  to 
be  sufficiently  dangerous,  and  no  one  cares  to  bring  them  to  bay  with- 
out good  dogs  and  a  good  gun. 

We  talked  so  much  about  tigers  and  their  caiTying  off  people  whilst 
asleep,  that  I,  after  going  to  bed,  became  nervous;  and  every  sound 
near  the  shed  made  me  grasp  the  handles  of  my  pistols.  After  mid- 
night I  wa-s  lulled  to  sleep  by  the  melancholy  notes  of  a  bird  that 
Lieutenant  Smyth  calls  "Alma  Perdida,"  or  lost  soul.  Its  wild  and 
wailing  cry  from  the  depths  of  the  forest  seemed,  indeed,  as  sad  and 
despairing  as  that  of  one  without  hope. 

Augunt  11.— Ijurra  went  to  Lamasillo  to  pay  the  boatmen,  some  of 
them  having  come  down  to  the  port  to  carry  up  the  cotton  cloth.  This 
left  me  entirely  alone.  The  sense  of  loneliness,  and  the  perfect  stillness 
of  the  great  forest,  caused  me  to  realize  in  all  its  force  the  truth  of 
Campbell's  fine  line — 

"The  solitude  of  earth  that  overawes." 
It  was  strange,  when  the  scratch  of  my  pen  on  the  paper  ceased,  to 
hear  absolutely  no  sound.  I  felt  so  much  the  want  of  society,  that  I 
tried  to  make  a  friend  of  the  lithe,  cunning-looking  lizard  that  ran 
along  the  canoe  at  my  side,  and  that  now  and  then  stopped,  raised  up 
his  head,  and  looked  at  me,  seemingly  in  wonder. 

I  could  see  no  traces  of  the  height  of  the  river  in  the  crecido,  or  full ; 
but,  from  a  mark  pointed  out  by  one  of  the  Indians,  I  judged  that  the 
river  has  here  a  perpendicular  rise  and  faU  of  thirty  feet.  He  represents 
it  at  a  foot  in  depth  at  high  water  on  the  hill  upon  which  we  now  are, 
and  its  holders  at  three-fourths  of  a  mile  inland.  Smyth  speaks  of  the 
river  having  fallen  ten  feet  in  a  single  night. 

The  hill  on  which  the  port  of  Tocache  is  situated,  is  about  thirty 

feet  above  the  present  level  of  the  river,  and  by  boiling  point  is  one 

thousand  five  hundred  and  seventy-nine  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

A  canoe  arrived  from  Juan  Juy,  and  a  party  of  two  from  Saposoa  by 


146  IBITOS. 

land.  These  <ire  towns  further  down  the  river.  Each  party  had  its 
pitakas,  (hide  trunks,)  containing  straw  liats,  rice,  tobacco,  and  tocuyo 
listaJo,  a  striped  cotton  cloth,  much  used  in  Iluanuco  for  *' tickings." 
It  is  astonishing  to  see  how  far  this  generally  lazy  people  will  travel 
for  a  dollar. 

August  18. — Had  a  visit  from  the  governor  last  night.  He  is  a 
little,  bare-footed  Mestizo,  dressed  in  the  short  frock  and  trousers  of  the 
Indians.  lie  seemed  disposed  to  do  all  in  his  power  to  facilitate  us 
and  forward  us  on  our  journey.  I  a<»ked  him  al>out  the  tigers.  He  said 
be  had  known  three  instances  of  their  having  attacked  men  in  the 
night ;  two  of  them  were  much  injured,  and  one  died. 

Our  boatmen  made  their  appearance  at  10  a.  m.,  accompanied  by 
their  wives,  bringing  masato  for  the  voyage.  The  women  carry  their 
children  (lashed  flat  on  the  back  to  a  frame  of  reeds)  by  a  strap  around 
the  brow,  as  they  do  any  other  burden.  The  urchins  look  comfortable 
and  contented,  and  for  all  the  world  like  young  monkey-s. 

The  Indians  of  this  district  are  Ibitos.     They  are  less  civilized  than 
the  Cholones  of  Tingo  Maria,  and  are  the  fii-st  whose  faces  I  have  seen 
regularly  painted.     They  seem  to  have  no  fixod  pattern,  but  each  man 
paints  according  to  his  fancy ;  using,  however,  only  two  colors — the  blue  . 
of  Huitoc  and  the  red  "Achote."  ' 

The  population  of  the  district  is  contained  in  the  villages  of  Tocacbe, 
Lamasillo,  Isonga,  and  Fisano,  and  amounts  to  about  five  hundred 
souls.  The  road  between  the  port  and  Tocacho  is  level  and  smooth ; 
tJie  soil  dark,  of  a  light  character,  and  very  rich,  though  thin.  Nothing 
is  sent  from  this  district  for  sale,  and  the  inhabitants  purchase  the  cot- 
ton for  their  garments  from  the  itinerant  traders  on  the  river,  paying 
for  it  with  tobacco.  I  should  judge  from  the  periodical  overflow  of 
the  lands,  the  heat  of  the  sun,  and  the  lightness  and  richness  of  the 
soil,  that  this  would  be  the  finest  rice  country  in  the  world. 

Wo  started  at  twelve  with  two  canoes  and  twelve  men  ;  river  fifty 
yards  broad,  eighteen  feet  deep,  and  with  three  miles  an  hour  current  ; 
a  stream  called  the  Tocache  empties  into  it  about  half  a  mile  below  the 
port.  It  forces  its  way  throygli  five  channels,  over  a  bank  of  stones  and 
sand.  It  is  doubtless  a  fine  large-looking  river  when  at  high  water. 
Tlic  coimtry  is  hilly  on  the  right  and  flat  on  the  left-hand  side.  At 
3  p.  m.  we  entere<l  a  more  hilly  country,  and  Ix'gan  to  encounter  again 
the  malos  pasos ;  pnssc<l  the  liio  Grande  de  Mi'Kftiif/lla,  which  comes  in 
on  the  left  in  the  same  manner  as  the  Tocache,  and  soon  after,  the  port 
of  Pisana;  no  houses  at  the  port  ;  saw  an  old  white  man  on  the  beach, 
who  was  a  cripple,  and  said  he  had  been  bedridden  for  nine  years.     He 


BALSAYACU.  147 

begged  us  for  needles,  or  fish-liooks,  or  anything  we  had.  We  gave  him 
a  dollar.  He  is  the  first  beggar  for  charity's  sake  that  I  recollected  to 
have  seen  since  leaving  Lima.  There  are  beggars  enough,  but  they  ask 
for  presents,  or,  offering  to  buy  some  article,  expect  that  it  shall  be  given 
to  them. 

The  river  is  now  entirely  broken  up  by  islands  and  rapids.  In  pass- 
ing one  of  these,  we  6ame  very  near  being  capsized.'  Rounding  suddenly 
the  lower  end  of  an  island,  we  met  the  full  force  of  the  current  from  the 
other  side,  which,  striking  us  on  the  beam,  nearly  rolled  the  canoe  over. 
The  men,  in  their  fright,  threw  themselves  on  the  upper  gunwale  of  the 
boat  which  gave  us  a  heel  the  other  way,  and  we  very  nearly  filled. 
Had  the  popero  fallen  from  his  post,  (and  he  tottered  fearfully,)  we 
shguld  probably  have  been  lost;  but  by  great  exertions  he  got  the 
boat's  head  down  stream,  and  we  shot  safely  by  rocks  that  threatened 
destruction. 

At  six  we  arrived  at  the  port  of  Balsayacu.  The  pueblo,  which  I 
found,  as  usual,  to  consist  of  one  house,  was  a  pleasant  walk  of  half  a 
mile  from  the  port.  We  slept  there,  instead  of  at  the  beach ;  and  it  was 
well  that  we  did,  for  it  rained  heavily  all  night.  The  only  inhabitants 
of  the  rancho  seemed  to  be  two  little  girls  ;  but  I  found  in  the  morning 
that  one  of  them  haH  an  infant,  though  she  did  not  appear  to  be  more 
than  twelve  or  thirteen  years  of  age.  I  suppose  there  are  more  houses 
m  the  neighborhood  ;  but,  as  I  have  before  said,  a  pueblo  is  merely  a 
settlement,  and  may  extend  over  leagues.  The  sandy  point  at  the  port 
IS  covered  with  large  boulders,  mostly  of  a  dark  red  conglomerate, 
though  there  were  stones  of  almost  every  kind  brought  down  by  the 
stream  and  deposited  there.  We  travelled  to-day  about  twenty-five 
miles;  course  N.  W.  by  N.;  average  depth  of  the  reaches  of  the'river 
sixteen  leet ;  current  .three  and  a  half  miles  to  the  hour. 

August  13.— Last  night  Ijurra  struck  with  a  fire-brand  one  of  the 
boatmen,  who  was  drunk,  and  disposed  to  be  insolent,  and  blackened  and 
burned  his  face.  The  man— a  powerful  Indian,  of  full  six  feet  in  heirrht— 
bore  it  like  a  corrected  child  in  a  blubbering  and  sulky  sort  of  manner 
This  morning  he  has  the  paint  washed  off  his  face,  and  looks  as  humble' 
as  a  dog  ;  though  I  observed  a  few  hours  afterwards  that  he  was  painted 
up  again,  and  had  resumed  the  usual  gay  and  good-tempered  manner  of 
his  tribe. 

Between  ten  and  eleven  we  passed  the  mal-paso  of  Matac,lla,  just 
below  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  the  same  name,  which  comes  m  on  the 
left,  clear  and  cool  into  the  Huallaga.  The  temperature  of  this  stream 
was  09;  that  of  thefiuallagA  74.     Ijurra  thought  its  waters  were  de- 


148  siox. 

cideclly  salt,  though  I  could  not  discover  it.  This  mal-paso  is  the  worst 
that  I  have  yet  encountered.  We  dared  not  attempt  it  under  oar,  and 
the  canoe  was  let  down  along  the  shore,  stern  foremost,  hy  a  rOpe  from 
its  hows,  and  guided  between  the  rocks  by  the  popero — sometimes  with 
his  paddle,  and  sometimes  overboard,  up  to  his  middle  in  water.  I  am 
told  that  "balsas"  pass  in  mid-channel,  but  I  am  sure  a  canoe  would 
be  capsized  and  filled.  The  mal-paso  is  a  quarter  of  a  mile  long,  and 
an  effectual  bar,  except  perhaps  at  high  water,  to  navigation  for  any 
thing  but  a  canoe  or  balsa.  Just  before  reaching  Sion  we  passed  the 
Pan  de  Azucar,  a  sugar-loaf  island  of  slate  rock ;  white  when  exposed 
long  to  the  atmosphere ;  seventy  or  eighty  feet  in  height,  and  covered 
with  small  trees.  It  appears  to  have  been  a  promontory  torn  from  the 
main  land  and  worn  into  its  present  shape  by  the  force  of  the  current. 

The  river  to-day  averages  one  hundred  yards  in  breadth,  eighteen  feet 
of  depth,  and  with  four  miles  of  current.  Its  boi  ders  are  hilly,  and  it 
runs  straighter  and  more  directly  to  the  north  than  before.  . 

At  1  p.  m.  we  arrived  at  the  port  of  Sion.  This  is  the  port  de  la 
madre,  or  of  the  main  river.  There  is  another  port  situated  on  the  Cano 
or  arm  of  the  main  river,  nearer  the  pueblo.  The  village  lies  in  a  S.  "W. 
direction,  about  a  mile  from  the  port.  As  our  Tocache  men  were  to 
leave  us  here,  we  had  all  the  baggage  taken  up  to  the  town.  The  walk 
is  a  pleasant  one,  over  a  level  road  of  fine  sand,  well  shaded  with  large 
trees.  Ijurra,  who  w^ent  up  before  me,  met  the  priest  of  Saposoa  (who 
is  on  the  annual  visit  to  his  parish)  going  south,  and  about  to  embark  at 
the  Cafio  port ;  and  the  governor  of  the  district  going  north  to  Pachisa, 
the  capital.  This  last  left  orders  that  we  should  be  well  received;  and 
the  lieutenant  governor  of  the  pueblo  lodged  us  in  the  coiivento,  or 
priest's  house,  and  appointed  us  a  cook  and  a  servant. 

I  slept  comfortably  on  the  padre's  bedstead,  enclosed  with  matting  to 
keep  oft"  the  bats.  The  people  appear  to  make  much  of  the  visit  of  their 
priest.  I  saw  in  the  corner  of  the  sala,  or  hall  of  the  house,  a  sort  of 
rude  palanquin,  which  I  understood  to  have  been  constructed  to  carry 
his  reverence  back  and  forth,  between  the  city  and  port. 

August  14. — We  employed  the  morning  in  cleaning  the  anns  and 
drying  the  equipage.  Had  a  visit  from  some  ladies,  pretty  Mestizas, 
(descendants  of  white  and  Indian,)  who  examined  the  contents  of  our 
open  trunks  with  curiosity  and  delight.  They  refrained,  however,  from 
asking  for  anything  until  they  saw  some  chancaca  with  which  Ave  were 
about  to  sweeten  our  morning  coffee,  when  they  could  contain  them- 
selves no  longer ;  but  requested  a  bit.  This  s»eems  an  article  of  great 
request,  for  no  sooner  had  the  news  spread  thtit  wo  had  it,  than  the 


sioN.  149 

alcalde  brought  us  an  egg  to  exchange  for  some ;  and  even  the  lieuten- 
ant governor  also  expressed  his  desire  for  a  little.  We  refused  the 
dignitaries,  though  we  had  given  some  to  the  ladies ;  for  we  had  but 
enough  fur  two  or  three  cups  more.  Their  w^ants,  however,  were  not 
confined  to  sugar.  They  asked,  without  scruple,  after  a  while,  for  any- 
thing they  saw  ;  and  the  lieutenant  wanted  a  little  sewing  cotton,  and 
some  of  the  soap  we  brought  to  wash  ourselves  with,  to  take  for  physic. 
These  things  we  could  more  easily  part  with,  and  I  had  no  objection  to 
give  him  some,  and  also  to  regale  his  wife  with  a  pair  of  pinchbeck  ear- 
rings. There  is  nothing  made  or  cultivated  here  for  sale.  They  raise 
a  few  fowls  and  some  yuccas  and  plantains  for  their  own  use ;  and  it 
was  well  that  we  brought  our  own  provisions  along,  or  we  might  have 
starved. 

I  do  not  wonder  at  the  indifference  of  the  people  to  attempt  to  better 
their  condition.  The  power  of  the  governor  to  take  them  from  their 
labor  and  send  them  on  journeys  of  weeks'  duration  with  any  passing 
merchant  or  traveller,  would  have  tkis  effect.  At  this  time  they  have 
furnished  canoes  and  rowers  for  the  priest,  and  a  Senor  Santa  Maria, 
bound  up  the  river  ;  and  for  the  governor  and  us,  bound  down ;  which 
has  taken  thirty-eight  men  out  of  a  population  of  ninety.  (The  whole 
population  of  the  town  and  neighborhood,  reckoning  women  and 
children,  is  three  hundred.) 

The  town  appears  to  have  been  once  in  a  better  condition  than  it  is 
now.  There  are  remains  of  a  garden  attached  to  the  convent,  and  also 
of  instruments  of  husbandry  and  manufacture — such  as  rude  mortai-s, 
hollowed  out  from  the  trunk  of  a  tree,  for  beating  (with  pestles)  the 
husk  from  rice,  and  a  press  for  putting  into  shape  the  crude  wax  gath- 
ered from  the  hollow  trees  by  the  Indians,  used  by  the  friars  "  lang 
syne" — all  now  seem  going  to  decay.  The  people  are  lazy  and  indif- 
ferent. They  cultivate  plantains  sufficient  to  give  them  to  eat,  and 
yuccas  enough  to  make  masato  to  get  drunk  on ;  and  this  seems  all 
they  need.  Most  of  their  time  is  spent  in  sleeping,  drinking,  and 
dancing.  Yesterday  they  Avere  dancing  all  day,  having  a  feast  pre- 
paratory to  going  to  work-  to  clear  ground,  and  make  a  chacra  for 
our  "Lady  of  something,"  which  the  priest,  in  his  recent  visit,  had  com- 
manded ;  (the  produce  of  this  chacra  is  doubtless  for  the  benefit  of  the 
church  or  its  ministers ;)  and  I  have  no  doubt  that  the  Indians  will  have 
another  feast  when  the  job  is  done. 

The  dance  was  a  simple  affair  so  far  as  figure  was  concerned — the 
women  whirling  round  in  the  centre,  and  the  men  (who  were  also  the 
musicians)  trotting  around  them  in  a  circle.     The  music  was  made  by. 


150  MALOS    PASOS. 

rude  drums,  and  fifes  of  reed ,  and  it  was  quite  amusing  to  see  the 
alcalde,  a  large,  painted,  grave-looking  Indian,  trotting  round  like  a 
dog  on  a  tread  mill,  with  a  penny  whistle  at  his  mouth.  I  am  told 
that  they  will  dance  in  this  way  as  long  as  there  is  drink,  if  it  reach  to 
a  month.  I  myself  have  heard  their  music — the  last  thing  at  night  as  I 
was  going  to  bed,  and  the  first  thing  in  the  morning  as  I  was  getting 
up — for  days  at  a  time.  The  tune  never  changes,  and  seems  to  be  the 
same  everywhere  in  the  Montana.  It  is  a  monotonous  tapping  of  the 
drum,  very  like  our  naval  heat  to  quarters. 

"VVe  embarked  at  the  Caiio  port,  and  dropped  down  the  Cano,  a  mile 
and  a  half  to  the  river.  We  found  the  river  deep  and  winding,  and 
running,  generally,  between  high  cliffs  of  a  white  rock.  The  white, 
however,  is  superficial,  and  seems  to  be  imparted  by  age  and  weather. 
Where  the  action  of  the  water  had  worn  the  white  ofi",  the  rock  showed 
dark  brown,  and  in  layers  of  about  two  feet  thick,  the  seams  running 
N.  N.  W.  and  S.  S.  E.,  and  at  an  angle  elevated  towards  the  north  of 
45°.  It  is  argillaceous  schist,  whFch  is  the  character  of  most  of  the 
rock  of  this  country. 

.  We  passed  the  mal-paso  of  Shapiama,  and,  with  fifteen  minutes'  in- 
terval, those  of  Savolayacu  and  Cachihuamiskca.  In  the  first  two  the 
canoes  were  let  down  with  ropes,  and  we  shot  the  last  under  oar,  which 
I  was  surprised  at,  as  I  had  heard  that  it  was  one  of  the  worst  on  the 
river.  Malos  pasos,  however,  which  are  formidable  when  the  river  is 
full,  are  comparatively  safe  when  it  is  low  ;  and  vice  versa.  Smyth  passed 
when  the  river  was  high — I  at  the  opposite  season ;  and  for  this  reason 
our  accounts  of  the  rapids  would  vary  and  appear  contradictory. 

After  passing  the  last  we  found  the  hills  lower,  the  country  more 
©pen,  and  the  river  wider  and  with  a  gentler  flow.  The  average  depth 
to-day  in  the.  smooth  parts  is  thirty  feet ;  current,  three  miles. 

We  passed  the  port  of  Valle  on  the  left.  A  small  stream  enters 
here.  The  town,  containing  five  hui^red  inhabitants,  is  six  miles  from 
the  port. 

About  sunset  we  arrived  at  Challuayacu,  a  settlement  of  twenty 
houses.  All  the  inhabitants,  except  those  of  one  house,  were  absent. 
We  wore  told  that  they  had  been  disobedient  in  some  matter  to  the 
governor  of  the  district,  and  that  he  had  come  upon  them  with  a  force 
and  carried  them  off  prisoners  to  Jyan  Juy,  a  large  town  further  down 
the  river,  whore  authority  might  be  brought  to  bear  upon  tlioin. 
,  The  village  is  situated  in  a  large  and  fertile  plain,  which  reaches 
from  near  the  town  of  Valle,  on  the  S.  W.,  to  Pacliisa,  on  the  N.;  but 
this  is  not  ^'ct  settled  or  cultivated,  and,  as  at  Sion,  nothing  is  produced 


SPIDER    WEB.  151 

except  tlie  bare  necessaries  of  life.  Some  attempt,  however,  had  beea 
made  at  improvements,  for  there  were  two  small  horses,  iu  tolerable 
condition,  wandering  about  among  the  deserted  houses  of  the  village. 
They  eat  the  tops  of  the  sugar-cane,  the  skin  of  the  plantain,  or  almost 
any  vegetable.  They  were  brought  from  somewhere  below  to  turn 
a  trapiche ;  but  everything  seems  abandoned  now,  and,  there  being  no 
one  to  take  care  of  the  horses,  I  fancy  the  bats  will  soon  bleed  them  to 
death. 

August  16. — Lovely  morning.  On  stepping  out  of  the  house  my 
attention  was  attracted  by  a  spider's  web  covering  the  whole  of  a  large 
lemon-tr^  nearly.  The  tree  was  oval  and  well  shaped ;  and  the  web 
was  thrown  over  it  in  the  most  artistic  manner,  and  with  the  finest 
eflFect.  Broad  flat  cords  were  stretched  out,  like  the  cords  of  a  tent, 
from  its  circumference  to  the  neighboring  bushes ;  and  it  looked  fis  if 
some  genius  of  the  lamp,  at  the  command  of  its  master,  had  exhausted 
taste  and  skill  to  cover  with  this  delicate  drapery  the  rich-looking  fruit 
beneath.  I  think  the  web  would  have  measured  full  ten  yards  in 
diameter. 

The  river  opposite  Challuayacu  is  one  hundred  yards  broad,  shallow 
and  rapid.  A  few  miles  below,  it  spreads  out  to  one  hundred  and  fifty 
yards ;  and  in  what  seemed  mid-channel,  there  was  but  six  feet  water, 
with  a  bottom  of  fine  sand,  and  a  current  of  four  miles  the  hour.  Hills 
on  the  right,  but  retiring  from  the  shores ;  a  perfect  plain,  covered  with 
trees,  bushes,  and  wild  cane,  on  the  left. 

At  noon  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Huayahamba,  which  is  one 
hundred  yards  wide,  has  six  feet  water,  and  a  beautiful  pebbly  bottom. 
A  quarter  of  an  hour's  drag  of  the  canoe  along  the  right  bank  brought 
us  to  the  village  of  Lupuna,  the  port  of  Pachiza.  It  contains  fifteen 
houses  and  about  seventy-five  inhabitants.  A  little  rice  is  grown ;  but 
the  staple  production  is  cotton,  which  seemed  to  be  abundant.  This 
may  be  called  a  manufacturing  place ;  for  almost  every  woman  was 
engaged  in  spinning,  and  many  balls  of  cotton-thread  were  hanging 
from  the  rafters  of  each  house.  A  woman,  spinning  with  diligence  all 
day,  will  make  four  of  these  balls.  These  weigh  a  pound,  and  are  worth 
twenty-five  cents.  They  are  very  generally  used  as  currency,  there 
being  little  money  in  the  country.  I  saw  some  English  prints,  which 
were  worth  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  the  yard ;  (cost  in  Lima  twelve 
and  a  halL)  they  come  either  by  the  way  of  Huanuco,  or  across  the 
country,  by  Truxillo,  Chachapoyas,  and  Moyobamba ;  and  are  paid  for 
in  hats,  wax,  or  these  balls  of  cotton. 


1-52  EL   ALMA  PERDIDA. 

We  had  a  visit  from  the  governor  of  Pachiza,  which  town  is  situated 
on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  three  miles  above  Lupuna.  I  asked  him 
why  he  had  carried  away  prisoners  nearly  all  the  population  of 
Challuayacu.  He  merely  said  that  they  had  been  rebellious,  and 
resisted  his  authority,  and  therefore  he  had  taken  them  to  Juan  Juy, 
where  they  could  be  secured  and  punished.  I  thought  it  a  pity  that  a 
thriving  settlement  should  be  broken  up,  very  probably  on  account 
of  some  personal  quarrel. 

The  district  comprises  the  pueblos  of  Pachiza,  of  eighty  matrimonies; 
Valle,  eighty;  Huicunga,  thirty;  Sion,  thirty;  Archiras,  six|;een ;  Lu- 
puna, fifteen;  Shepti,  twelve;  Bijao,  four;  and  Challuayacu,  three. 
The  number  of  souls  in  a  village,  proportionate  to  the  number  of  matri- 
monies, or  married  couples,  is  generally  estimated  at  five  for  one.  This 
would  give  the  population  of  the  district  thirteen  hundred  and  fifty. 
The  people  are  indolent  and  careless ;  and  although-  there  could  not 
well  be  a  finer  or  more  productive  country  than  all  this  district,  yet 
they  barely  exist. 

After  we  had  retired  to  our  mats  beneath  the  shed  for  the  night,  I 
asked  the  governor  if  he  knew  a  bird  called  Ul  alma  perdida.  He 
did  not  know  it  by  that  name,  and  requested  a  description.  I  whistled 
an  imitation  of  its  notes;  whereupon,  an  old  crone,  stretched  on  a  mat 
near  us,  commenced,  with  animated  tones  and  gestures,  a  story  in  the 
Inca  language,  which,  translated,  ran  somehow  thus : 

An  Indian  and  his  wife  went  out  from  the  village  to  work  their 
chacra,  carrying  their  infant  with  them.  The  woman  went  to  the 
spring  to  get  water,  leaving  the  man  in  charge  of  the  child,  with  many 
cautions  to  take  good  care  of  it.  When  she  arrived  at  the  spring,  she 
found  it  dried  up,  and  went  further  to  look  for  another.  The  husband, 
alarmed  at  her  long  absence,  left  the  child  and  went  in  search.  When 
they  returned  the  child  was  gone ;  and  to  their  repeated  cries,  as  they 
wandered  through  the  woods  in  search,  they  could  get  no  response  save 
the  wailing  cry  of  this  little  bird,  heard  for  the  first  time,  whose  notes 
their  anxious  and  excited  imagination  "syllabled"  into  joa-pa,  ma-»m, 
(the  present  Quicliua  name  of  the  bird.)  I  suppose  the  Spaniards  heard 
this  story,  and,  with  that  religious  poetic  turn  of  thought  which  seems 
peculiar  to  this  people,  called  the  bird  "The  lost  soul." 

The  circumstances  under  which,  the  story  was  told — the  beautiful 
still,  starlight  night — the  deep,  dark  forest  around — the  faint-red  glim- 
mering of  the  fire,  flickering  upon  the  old  woman's  gi-ay  h^ir  and  earnest 
face  as  she  pouied  forth  the  guttural  tones  of  the  language  of  a  people 
now  passed  away — gave  it  a  sufficiently  romantic  interest  to  an  imagi- 


BEGGARS    IN    A    BOAT.  153 

native  man.  The  old  woman  was  a  small  romance  in  herself.  I  had 
looked  at  her  with  interest  as  she  cooked  our  supper.  She  wore  a 
costume  that  is  sometimes,  though  not  often,  seen  in  this  country.  The 
body,  or  upper  part  of  the  dress,  which  was  black,  consisted  of  two 
parts — one  coming  up  from  the  waist  behind  and  covering  the  back, 
the  other  in  front,  covering  the  breast ;  the  two  tied  together  over  each 
shoulder  with  strings,  leaving  her  lank  sides  and  long  skinny  arms 
perfectly  bare. 

August  17. — We  procured  a  canoe  sufficiently  large  to  carry  all  our 
baggage,  (we  had  hitherto  had  two,)  with  eight  peons.  We  found 
hills  now  on  both  sides  of  the  river,  which  a  little  below  Lupuua  has 
one  hundred  and  twenty  yards  of  breadth  and  thirty  feet  of  depth.  We 
passed  a  small  raft,  with  a  house  built  of  cane  and  palm  upon  it,  con- 
taiuing  an  image  of  the  Virgin,  which  was  bound  up  the  river  seeking 
contributions.  The  people  buy  a  step  towards  Heaven  in  this  way  with 
their  little  balls  of  cotton. 

We  passed  abreast  of  Juan  Juy ;  but,  a  long  island  intervening,  we 
did  not  see  it.  It  is  a  large  village  of  five  hundred  inhabitants ;  it  is 
situated  in  a  plain,  a  great  part  of  which  is  overflowed  by  the  river  at 
the  full ;  and  much  rice  is  cultivated  there.'  I  have  met  with  the  rice 
of  Juan  Juy  everywhere  on  the  river.  Soon  after  we  passed  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Sapo,  which  is  fifty  yards  broad,  and  muddy;  navigable  for 
large  canoes  for  twenty  miles  to  the  town  of  Saposoa,. which  contains  one 
thousand  inhabitants,  and  is  the  capital  of  the  comparatively  populous 
district  of  that  name. 

The  Huallaga,  which  for  some  miles  above  this  has  but  six  feet  of 
water,  at  this  place  has  eighteen;  but  it  soon  diminishes  to  six  again. 

We  stopped  at  a  collection  of  three  or  four  huts  called  Oge,  where 
there  was  a  trapiche  to  grind  sugar-cane,,;  but  the  people  only  made  bad 
rum  of  it.  We  tried  to  purchtise  yuccas  and  plantains ;  but  though 
they  had  them,  they  did  not  care  to  sell.  They  only  plant  enough  for 
their  own  necessities.  Great  quantities  of  yuccas  are  used  to  make 
their  masato.  Below  this  we  passed  a  rancho  on  the  right-hand  side, 
where  there  was  a  fine  field  of  maize.  This  is  the  first  settlement  w^ 
have  seen  on  that  bank;  fear  of  the  savages,  (or  Infidels^  as  they  are 
called,  who  dwell  on  that  side,  preventing  it. 

We  stopped  lor  the  night  at  Juan  Comas,  a  small  village  situated  on 
a  bluft'  of  light  sandy  soil,  on  the  left  bank.  The  hills  on  the  other 
side  are  much  more  bare  than  is  common,  having  only  a  i^vf  small  trees 
and  scattering  bushes  on  them.  We  were  quite  objects  of  curiosity, 
and  most  of  the  people  of  the  village  came  in  to  se.e  us ;  one  man,  a 


154  KIDNAPPING. 

Strapping  fellow,  came  in,  and  after  a  brief  but  courteous  salutation  to 
me,  turned  to  one  of  the  women,  and  drove  her  out  of  the  house  with 
kicks  and  curses.  He  followed  her,  and  I  soon  after  heard  the  sound  of 
blows  and  the  cries  of  a  woman;  I  suppose  the  fellow  was  either  jealous? 
or  the  lady  had  neglected  some  household  duty  to  gratify  her  curiosity. 

August  18. — Just  below  Juan  Comas  the  river  has  one  hundred  yards 
of  width  and  forty-two  feet  of  depth.  This  part  of  the  river  is  called 
the  "  well"  of  Juan  Comas ;  it  is  half  a  mile  in  length,  and  the  current 
runs  but  one  and  a  quarter  mile  the  hour.  The  hills  terminate  just 
below  this,  and  we  have  the  country  flat  on  both  sides.  We  passed 
some  rocky  hills  on  the  right-hand  side,  in  one  of  which  is  a  cave  called 
"  Pumahuasi,"  or  Tiger  house.  It  is  said  to  be  very  extensive.  Soon 
after  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  river  Ifunanza,  a  small  stream  coming 
in  on  the  Infidel  side  of  the  river.  Our  popero  says  that  the  Infidels 
dwell  near  here,  and  the  people  of  Tarapoto  go  a  short  distance  up  this 
riv'er  to  capture  the  young  Indians  and  take  them  home  as  slaves.  I 
believe  this  story ;  for  I  found  servants  of  this  class  in  Tarapoto,  who 
were  bought  and  sold  as  slaves.  Slavery  is  prohibited  by  the  laws  of 
Peru ;  but  this  system  is  tolerated  on  the  plea  that  the  Infidel  is  chris- 
tianized and  his  condition  bettered  by  it. 

It  is  very  easy  for  only  a  few  white  men,  armed  with  guns,  to  rob 
the  savages  of  their  children ;  for  these  rarely  live  in  villages,  but  in 
families  of  at  most  three  or  four  huts,  and  widely  separated  from  each 
other.  They  never  assemble  except  for  the  purpose  of  war ;  and  then 
the  sound  of  a  horn,  from  settlement  to  settlement,  brings  them  to- 
gether. They  are  also  a  timid  people,  and  will  not  face  the  white 
man's  gun. 

It  is  possible  that  the  story  of  the  popero  is  not  true,  and  that  the 
whites  may  buy  the  children  of,the  Indians;  but  if  so,  I  imagine  that 
the  advantages  of  the  bargain  are  all  on  one  side. 

Below  the  mouth  of  the  Ilunanza  we  have  the  same  comparatively 
bare  hills  that  I  noticed  opposite  Juan  Comas.  They  present  ridges  of 
red  earth  and  dark  stone,  which  curve  from  the  south  towards  the 
Northeast,  and  are  elevated  in  that  direction  to  about  20°,  I  suspect 
that  they  have  veins  of  salt,  particularly  as  the  salt  hills  of  Pilluana 
are  of  the  same  range,  and  present  at  a  distance  nearly  the  same 
appearance. 

The  hills  of  Pilluana,  which  we  now  soon  passed,  have,  their  base 
immediately  upon  the  river,  on  the  right-hand  side.  They  are  about 
three  hundred  feet  in  height,  and  stretch  along  the  banks  of  the  river 
for  a  quarter  of  a  mile.     The  salt  shows  like  frost  upon  the  red  earth  at 


SALT   HILLS.  155 

a  distance ;  but  seen  nearer  the  lieavy  rains  seem  to  have  washed  away 
the  loose  earth  and  left  nearly  the  pure  salt  standing  in  innumerable 
cone-shaped  pinnacles,  so  that  the  broken  sides  of  the  hills  look  like 
what  drawings  represent,  of  the  crater  of  a  volcano,  or  the  bottom  of  a 
geyser.  Where  the  hills  have  been  excavated,  beautiful  stalactites  of 
perfectly  pure  salt  hang  from  the  roof  in  many  varieties  of  shapes. 
There  are  much  higher  hills  back  of  these,  that  appear  also  to  contain 
salt ;  so  that  there  seems  a  supply  here  for  all  people  and  for  all  time. 

We  passed  the  mouth  of  the  r\\QV  Mayo,  that  comes  in  on  the  left 
between  moderately  high  hills,  and  five  minutes  after  arrived  at  Shapaja, 
one  of  the  ports  of  Tarapoto.  The  river,  just  above  the  junction  of  the 
Mayo,  narrows  to  forty  yards,  has  thirty  and  thirty -six  feet  of  depth, 
and  increases  much  in  velocity.  This  is  preparatory  to  its  rush  over 
the  "  Fonffo,'"  a  strait  of  forty -five  miles  in  length,  where  the  river  is 
confined  between  high  hills,  is  much  broken  with  males  pasos,  and  has 
its  last  considerable  declivity. 

Shapaja  has  twenty  houses,  mostly  concealed  in  the  high  groves  of 
plantains  which  surround  them.  Nearly  all  the  men  were  away  fishing, 
but  the  women  (as  always)  received  us  kindly,  and  cooked  our  supper 
for  us. 


156 


TARAPOTO. 


CHAPTER  VIII. 

H    Tarapoto— Pongo  of  Chasuta— Chasuta— Yuriinaguas— Sta.  Cruz— Antonio,  the 
Paragud—Laguna— Mouth  of  the  Huallaga. 

August  19.— We  started  in  company  with  a  man  who,  with  his 
peons,  was  carrying  fish  that  he  had  taken  and  salted  below  Chasuta 
to  Tarapoto.  A  smart  walk  of  five  hours  (the  latter  part  of  it  very 
quick,  to  avoid  the  rain  that  threatened  us)  brought  us  to  the  town. 
The  road  crossed  a  range  of  hills  in  the  forest  for  about  half  the  dis- 
tance. The  ascent  and  descent  of  these  hills  were  tedious,  because  light 
showers  of  rain  had  moistened  the  surface  of  the  hard  baked  earth  and 
made  it  as  slippery  as  soap.  For  the  other  half  of  the  distance  the  road 
ran  over  a  plain  covered  with  high,  reedy  grass,  and  some  bushes ;  there 
was  a  short  clump-grass  underneath  that  would  afford  capital  pasturage. 
The  distance  between  Shapaja  and  Tarapoto,  I  judge  to  be  fifteen  miles, 
and  the  direction  westerly,  although  I  could  not  tell  exactly,  on  account 
of  the  winding  of  thop-oad. 

Tarapoto — which  is  situated  upon  a  moderate  eminence  near  the 
western  edge  of  tlie  plain  before  spoken  of,  and  surrounded  by  hills, 
which  are  mountains  in  the  west — is  by  far  the  largest  town  I  have  seen 
since  leaving  Huanuco,  The  district — comprising  the  towns  of  Tara- 
poto, (which  has  three  thousand  five  hundred  inhabitants,)  Chasuta, 
(which  has  twelve  hundred,)  Cumbasa,  Morales,  Shapaja,  Juan  Guorra, 
and  Juan  Comas — numbers  six  thousand  inhabitants. 

The  principal  productions  are  rice,  cotton,  and  tobacco,  all  of  which 
are  articles  of  export,  particularly  the  cloth  called  tocuyo,  woven  by  the 
women  from  cotton.  Nearly  all  the  course  of  the  river,  as  far  as  Egas, 
is  supplied  from  Tarapoto  with  this  article.  As  much  as  thirty-live 
thousand  varas  is  said  to  be  made  in  this  place  annually.  It-  is  valued 
here  at  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  vara,*  and  increases  in  price  as  it 
floats  down  the  river,  until  at  Egas  it  is  exchanged  for  the  value  of  fifty 
cents  in  foreign  articles  from  Pan'i.  It  also  goes  inland  as  far  as  Moyo- 
bamba,  where  it  is  exchanged  for  straw  hats  and  English  prints. 


*  This  is  its  value  in  hartor.  It  may  bo  bought  for  six  and  a  quarter  centa 
money.  The  same  is  the  case  with  the  wax  and  the  balls  of  thread,  which  are 
held  at  double  the  price  for  what  they  may  bo  bought  with  coin. 


THE    MOYOBAMBINOS.  157 

There  is  little  or  no  money  in  this  country.  Tocuyo,  wax  from  the 
Ucayali,  and  balls  of  cotton  thread,  are  used  in  its  place.  The  English 
goods  that  come  from  the  interior  sell  in  Tarapoto  for  four  times  their 
cost  in  Lima:  for  example,  a  yard  of  printed  caHco,  which  costs  in  Lima 
twelve  and  a  half  cents,  sells  in  this  place  for  either  a  pound  of  wax, 
four  yards  of  tocuyo,  or  two  pounds  of  cotton  thread.  (It  is  worth 
twenty-five  cents,  money.) 

I  suppose  there  is  a  little  money  obtained  for  these  articles  in  Huan- 
uco  and  Chachapoyas,  or  left  here  by  travelling  strangers.  But  if  so,  it 
falls  into  the  hands  of  the  traders  and  is  hoarded  away.  These  traders 
are  either  Moyobambinos,  (inhabitants  of  Moyobamba,)  or  foreigners  of 
Spain,  France,  and  Portugal.  The  Moyobambinos  are  the  Jews  of  the 
country,  and  will  compass  sea  and  land  to  make  a  dollar.  I  met  with 
them  everywhere  on  the  river ;  and  I  think  that  I  did  not  enter  an 
Indian  village  without  finding  a  Moyobambino  domiciliated  and  trading 
with  the  inhabitants.  They  are  a  thin,  spare,  sickly-looking  people,  of 
a  very  dark  complexion,  but  seem  capable  of  undergoing  great  hardship 
and  fatigue,  for  they  carry  their  cargoes  to  marts  hundreds  of  leagues 
distant  by  roads  or  river  that  present  innumerable  difficulties. 

They  bear  a  bad  character  on  the  river,  and  are  said  to  cheat  and 
oppress  the  Indians  ;  so  that  when  I  could  not  get  a  yucca  for  my  supper 
without  paying  for  it  in  advance,  I  vented  my  spleen  by  abusing  a 
Moyobambino,  who  had  treated  the  people  so  badly  that  they  distrusted 
everybody.  But  I  have  had  reason,  once  or  twice,  for  abusing  other 
people  besides  Moyobambinos  on  this  account ;  for  the  governor  of 
Tarapoto  hesitated  about  trusting  me  with  a  canoe  to  descend  the  river, 
because  a  person  representing  himself  as  a  countryman  of  mine  had  run 
oflF  with  one  some  years  before.  I  imagine  this  is  the  same  honest 
German  who  "  did"  Colonel  Lucar  at  Iluanuco. 

I  met  at  this  place  my  countryman  Hacket,  whom  I  had  heard  spoken 
so  highly  of  in  Cerro  Pasco  and  Iluanuco.  He  is  employed  in  making 
copper  kettles  [cnWad  pailas)  for  distilling,  and  in  all  kinds  of  blacksmith 
and  foundry  work.  He  seems  settled  in  this  country  for  life,  and  has 
adopted  the  habits  and  manners  of  the  people.  Poor  fellow — how  re- 
joiced he  was  to  see  the  face  and  hear  the  speech  of  a  countryman  !  I 
am  indebted  to  him  for  the  following  statistics  concerning  Tarapoto  : 

"The  population  of  Tarapoto,  with  its  annexed  ports  of  Shapaja  and 
Juan  Guerra,  is  five  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  souls.  The  births 
annually  are  from  two  hundred  and  twenty  to  two  hundred  and  fifty ; 
deaths,  from  thirty  to  fifty. 

"  The  principal  occupation  of  the  people  is  the  manufacture  of  cotton 


15S  STATISTICS. 

cloth,  of  wliich  they  make  from  thirty-five  to  forty  thousand  varas 
annually.  Tins  article  is  sold  in  Chachapoyas  at  twelve  and  a  half  ccnta 
the  vara.  Tliis,  tocuyo,  and  white  wax,  make  the  exchange  of  the 
place,  (lulil  aud  Mlvor  are  almost  unknown,  but  they  are  articIcH  which 
the  people  must  desire  to  have.  The  white  wax  of  Maiuas  is  worth  four 
yards  of  tocuyo  the  p«jund.  A  bull  or  cow  of  good  size  is  sold  for  one 
hundred  vanws  of  tocuyo ;  a  tat  hog  of  ordinary  si/e,  for  sixty  ;  a  largo 
sheep,  twelve;  twenty-five  pounds  of  salt  fi»h  of  the  vaca  marina^  or 
pai«hi,  (e<jual  in  quality  to  cod-tish,)  for  twelve  varas ;  twenty-five 
pounds  of  manteca  (oil  or  lard)  of  viK-a  marina,  twelve  varas;  twenty- 
five  poumJs  of  codec,  six  varas ;  twenty  pounds  of  rum — of  thirty  de- 
grees, twenty-four  varas ;  of  sixteen  degrees,  twelve  varas  ;  twenty -five 
pounds  of  cotton  in  the  seed,  eight  ounces  of  wax ;  a  laying-hen,  four 
ounces ;  a  chicken,  two  ounces  ;  twenty-five  pounds  of  rice  in  the  hu.sk, 
half  a  pound  ;  twenty-five  pounds  of  Indian  corn,  two  ounces ;  twenty- 
five  pounds  of  beans,  four  ounces ;  a  basket  of  yuccas,  which  weighs 
from  fifty  to  sixty  pounds,  two  ounces;  a  head  of  plantains,  which  will 
weigh  from  forty  to  fifty  pounds,  for  three  needles  ;  or  six  heads,  deliv- 
ered in  the  house,  four  ounces  of  wax. 

"  A  plantiiin-grovo  will  give  in  full  vitjor  for  fifty  or  sixty  years,  without 
more  attention  tliatl  to  clean  it  occasionally  of  weeds ;  cotton  gives  a 
crop  in  six  months;  rice  in  five;  indigo  is  indigenous;  cattle  of  all 
kinds  augment  with  much  rapidity. 

"All  transportation  of  cargoes  by  land  is  made  upon  the  backs  of 
Indians,  for  want  of  roads.  The  customary  weight  of  a  cargo  is  seventy- 
five  pounds ;  the  c^st  of  its  transportation  to  Moyobamba,  (seventy 
miles,)  is  six  varas  of  tocuyo ;  to  Iluanuco,  (three  hundred  aud  ninety 
miles,)  thirty-two  varas,  by  water  and  by  land ;  that  is  to  say,  eight 
Indians  will  receive  in  Tara|K>to  eight  packagi'S,  of  whiit'KH'Ver  goods, 
and  carry  them  on  their  shoulders  to  ilie  port  of  Juau  Guerra,  where 
tljey  embark  and  carry  them  in  a  caikkj  to  the  jKJrt  of  Tingo  Maria ; 
there  tliey  shoulder  them  again,  and  carry  them  to  Iluunuco,  (<iylity 
miles.)  It  is  to  bo  understood  tliat  the  owuer  of  the  cargo  is  to  supjtort 
tlio  {K'ons. 

•*  The  ascent  of  tlic  Iluallaga  frt)m  Juan  Oucrra  to  Tingo  Mnria  taki« 
thirty  days  ;  the  descent,  eight.  It  has  tlangi-rous  pasM-s.  Ii  is  vusy  to 
obtain,  in  the  term  of  six  or  eight  days,  fifty  or  sixty  )>o(>ns  t'or  the 
trans{>ortation  of  cargoes,  getting  the  order  of  the  governor  and  paying 
tJio  above  prices. 

"This  town  is,  without  di.«putc,  the  most  important  in  Mainaa,  on  ao- 
oount  of  its  neighborhood]  to  navigable  rivers,  united  with  an  extension  of 


AMERICAN  CIRCUS  COMPANY.  159 

land  free  from  inundations.     Its  inliabitants  are  numerous,  civilized, 
and  docile." 

The  people  have  no  idea  of  comfort  in  their  domestic  relations  ;  the 
houses  are  of  mud,  thatched  with  palm,  and  have  uneven  dirt  floors. 
The  furniture  consists  of  a  grass  hammock,  a  standing  bed-place,  a 
coarse  table,  and  a  stool  or  two.  The  governor  of  this  populous  district 
wore  no  shoes,  and  appeared  to  live  pretty  much  like  the  rest  of  them. 

August  20  we  spent  at  Tarapoto,  waiting  for  the  peons.  The 
governor  preferred  that  I  should  pay  them  in  money,  which  I  much 
doubt  if  the  peons  ever  saw.  He  will  probably  keep  the  money  and 
give  them  tocuyo  and  wax.  I  paid  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents  for  the 
canoe  to  carry  me  as  far  as  Chasuta,  a  distance  of  about  six  hours  down, 
with  probably  twenl^-four  to  return,  (that  is,  twenty -four  working  hours ;) 
fifty  cents  to  each  peon ;  and  a  dollar  to  pay  the  people  to  haul  the  canoe 
up  the  bank  aud  place  it  under  the  shed  at  Shapaja  on  its  return. 

The  men  who  carried  us  from  Tocache  to  Sion  preferred  half  their 
pay  in  money ;  in  all  other  cases  I  have  paid  in  cotton  cloth,  valued  at 
twenty-five  cents  the  yard ;  (its  cost  in  Lima  was  twelve  and  a  half 
cents.)  The  amount  of  pay,  generally  fixed  by  the  governor,  is  a  yard 
per  man  per  day,  and  about  the  same  for  the  canoe.  * 

An  American  circus  company  passed  through  Tarapoto  a  few  months 
ago  ;  they  had  come  from  the  Pacific  coast,  and  were  bound  down  the 
Amazon.  This  beats  the  Moyobambinos  for  determined  energy  in 
making  dollars.  I  imagine  that  the  adventure  did  not  pay,  for  I  en- 
countered traces  of  them,  in  broken  down  horses,  at  several  of  the 
villages  on  the  river.     They  floated  their  horses  down  on  rafts. 

I  spoke  with  an  active  and  intelligent  young  Spanish  trader,  named 
Morey,  about  the  feasibility  of  a  steamboat  enterprise  upon  these  rivers, 
bringing  American  goods  and  taking  return-cargoes  of  cotlee,  tobacco, 
straw-hats,  hammocks,  and  sarsaparilla  to  the  ports  of  Brazil  on  the 
river.  He  thought  that  it  could  not  fail  to  enrich  any  one  who  would 
attempt  it ;  but  that  the  difficulty  lay  in  the  fact  that  my  proposed 
steamer  would  never  get  as  far  as  this,  for  that  my  goods  would  be 
bought  up  and  paid  for  in  return-cargoes  long  before  she  reached  Peru. 
He  thought,  too,  that  the  Brazilians  along  the  river  had  money  which 
they  would  be  glad  to  exchange  for  comforts  and  luxuries. 

Were  I  to  engage  in  any  scheme  of  colonization  for  the  purpose  of 
evolving  the  resources  of  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon,  I  think  I  should 
direct  the  attention  of  settlers  to  this  district  of  Tarapoto.  It  combines 
more  advantages  than  any  other  I  know;  it  is  healthy,  fertile,  and  free 
from  the  torment  of  musquitoes  and  sand-flies.     Wheat  may  be  had 


160  TOBACCO. 

from  the  high  lands  above  it ;  cattle  thrive  well ;  and  its  coffee,  tobacco, 
sugar-cane,  rice,  and  maize  are  of  fine  quality.  It  is  true  that  vessels 
cannot  come  up  to  Shapaja,  the  port  of  the  town  of  Tarapoto ;  but  a 
good  road  may  be  made  from  this  town  eighteen  miles  to  Chasuta,  to 
which  vessels  of  five  feet  draught  may  come  at  the  lowest  stage  of  the 
river,  and  any  draught  at  high  water.  Tarapoto  is  situated  on  an 
elevatt'd  plain  twenty  miles  in  diameter ;  is  seventy  miles  from  Moyo- 
bamba,  the  capital  of  the  province,  a  city  of  seven  thousand  inhabitants; 
and  has  close  around  it  the  villages  of  Lamas.  Tabalosas,  Juan  Guerra, 
and  Shapaja. 

The  Ucayali  is  navigable  higher  up  than  thi?  point,  and  the  quality 
of  cotton  and  coflfee  seems  better,  within  certain  limits,  further  from  the 
equator.  But  the  settler  at  the  head-waters  of  .the  Ucayali  has  to 
place  himself  in  a  profound  wilderness,  with  the  forest  and  the  savage 
to  subdue,  and  entirely  dependent  upon  his  own  resources.  I  think  he 
would  be  better  placed  near  where  be  can  get  provisions  and  assistance 
whilst  he  is  clearing  the  forest  and  planting  his  fields.  I  am  told  that 
the  governors  of  the  districts  in  all  the  province  of  Mainas  have 
authority  to  give  titles  to  land  to  any  one  who  desires  to  cultivate  it.  ' 

I  saw  nere  very  fine  fields  of  Indian  corn.  The  stalk  grows  quite  as 
high  as  on  our  best  bottom-lands  in  Virginia,  and  the  ears  were  full,  and 
of  good  grain.  It  may  be  planted  at  any  time,  and  it  yields  in  three 
months,  thus  giving  four  crops  a  year.  A  considerable  quantity'  of 
tobacco  is  also  cultivated  in  the  neighborhood  of  Tarapoto.  The 
tobacco  seed  is  planted  in  carefully-prepared  ground  in  October.  At 
this  time  the  forest  is  cleared  to  make  the  plantation.  In  January  the 
seedlings  are  ready  to  transplant,  when  the  wood  that  has  been  cut 
down  is  set  fire  to,  and  the  plantation  cleared  up  ready  to  receive  the 
plants.  When  the  plant  is  about  two  feet  high,  the  top  is  cut  oft",  and 
the  lower  leaves,  which  are  generally  injured  by  the  dirt,  pulled  off",  so 
that  the  force  of  the  plant  may  be  thrown  into  the  middle  leaves.  The 
crop  is  gathered,  as  the  leaves  lipen,  in  July  and  August.  They  are 
put  under  shelter  for  a  few  days  to  turn  yellow,  and  are  then  exposed 
for  three  or  four  days  to  the  sun  and  dew.  After  this,  they  are  some- 
times sprinkled  with  a  little  molasses  and  water,  and  rolled  out  flat  with 
a  wooden  roller  ;  the  larger  stems  are  taken  out,  and  they  are  then  put 
up  in  long  niasses  of  about  one  and  a  half  pound  weight,  and  wrapped 
tightly  and  closely  with  some  running  vine  ef  the  forest.  Tliis  is  the 
common  method  ;  and  the  common  tobacco  of  Tarapoto  is  worth  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  (money)  the  mass  there.  A  superior  kind,  made  with 
more  care,  and  put  up  in  short,  thick  masses,  called  andullo,  is  also 


FISHING   PARTY.  161 

made  in  the  province.     This  is  worth  twenty-five  cents.     Tlae   best 
tobacco  is  made  in  Xeberos,  in  the  upper  mission,  and  is  sent  to  Lima. 

August  21. — We  started  for  Juan  Guerra  on  horseback,  in  company 
Avith  a  large  fishing-party,  got  up  by  the  Padre  for  his  own  profit ;  he 
seemed  to  carry  nearly  the  whole  town  with  him.  The  mounted  party 
consisted  of  eight.  There  were  two  ladies  along,  whose  company  added 
to  the  gaiety  and  pleasure  of  the  canter  through  the  woods.  Used  as 
I  had  become  by  my  travels  in  various  parts  of  the  world  to  the  free 
and  easy,  I  must  confess  that  I  was  a  little  startled  to  see  these  ladies, 
when  we  arrived  at  Juan  Guerra,  denude  themselves  to  a  silk  handker- 
chief around  the  loins,  and  bathe  in  the  river  within  forty  yards,  and  in 
full  sight  of  all  the  men. 

Arrived  at  Juan  Guerra,  we  embarked  upon  the  Cumbasa,  which 
empties  into  the  Mayo.  Half  an  hour's  dragging  of  the  canoe  over  the 
shoals,  and  between  the  fallen  trees  on  this  stream,  and  one  and  a  half 
hour's  navigation  on  the  Mayo,  carried  us  to  its  mouth,  which  is  only  a 
quarter  of  a  mile.above  Shapaja,  where  Morey  had  the  goodness  to  land 
us,  and  then  shoved  off  to  join  the  priest,  who  was  to  camp  on  a  beach 
above. 

The  fishing-party  of  the  padre  was  a  large  afiiair.  They  had  four  or 
five  canoes,  and  a  large  quantity  of  barbasco.  The  manner  of  fishing 
is  to  close  up  the  mouth  of  a  cano*of  the  river  witl^  a  net-work  made  of 
reeds,  and  then,  mashing  the  barbasco  root  to  a  pulp,  throw  it  into  the 
water.  This  turns  the  water  white,  and  poisons  it,  so  that  the  fish  soon 
commence  rising  to  the  surface  dead,  and  are  taken  into  the  canoes 
with  small  tridents.  Almost  at  the  moment  of  throwing  the  barbasco 
into  the  water,  the  smaller  fish  rise  to  the  surface  and  die  in  two  or 
three  minutes;  the  larger  fish  survive  longer;  and,  therefore,  a  successful 
fishing  of  this  sort  is  a  matter  of  half  a  day,  or  till  the  canoes  are  filled. 

When  we  left  Shapaja  for  Tarapoto,  we  placed  our  trunks,  several 
without  locks,  in  charge  of  the  women  who  lived  in  the  shed  where  we 
slept;  and,  although  they  knew  that  the  trunks  contained  handkerchiefs, 
red  cotton  cloth,  beads,  scissors,  tfec,  (things  which  they  most  desire,"^ 
we  missed  nothing  on  our  return. 

August  22. — Two  miles  below  Shapaja  is  the  mal-paso  of  Estero. . 
A  point  of  rocks,  stretching  out  from  a  little  stream  that  enters  on  the 
left,  makes  this  rapid,  which  is  considered  a  very  dangerous  one.  The 
stream,  rushing  against  these  rocks,  is  deflected  to  a  point  of  rooks  that 
makes  out  into  the  river  a  little  lower  down  on  the  other  side;  this- 
turns  it  aside  again,  and  the  waves  mingle  and  boil  below.  The  canoe  ■■ 
was  unloaded,  and  conducted  by  sogas  or  ropes  of  vine,  over  and  be- 


162  CHASUTA. 

tween  the  rocks  on  the  left-hand  side.  It  took  an  hour  to  unload,  pass 
the  canoe,  and  load  up  again.  Three  miles  further  is  the  mal-p:iso  of 
Canoa  Yaai,  (canoe  water.)  from  many  canoes  having  been  wrecked 
here.  This  is  by  far  the  most  formidable  rapid  I  have  seen.  There  is 
a  small  perpendicular  fall  on  each  side,  and  a  shoot  of  20"  declivity  in 
the  middle,  down  which  the  water  rushes  with  a  velocity  of  at  least  ten 
miles  the  hour.  The  shoot  looks  tempting,  and  one  is  disposed  to  try 
the  rush ;  but  there  are  rocks  below,  over  which  the  water  dashes  up 
some  two  or  three  feet  in  height;  and  I  think  no  boat  coidd  shodt  out 
of  the  force  of  the  stream  so  as  to  avoid  these  rocks. 

The  river  both  here  and  at  Estero  is  not  more  than  thirty  yards 
wide.  The  average  velocity  of  the  current  through  the  Pongo  is  six 
miles  the  hour.  It  took  one  hour  and  a  half  to  pass  this  obstruction. 
Two  miles  further  down  we  shot  the  mal-paso  of  Matijuelo  under  oar ; 
and  immediately  after,  that  of  Chumia,  where  the-  canoe  was  let 
down  as  before,  but  without  unloading.  It  took  half  an  hour  to  do 
this.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards  we  passed  the  rapid  of  Vaijuero  ; 
and  at  2^  p.  m.  arrived  at  Chasuta.  We  were  kindly  welcomed  and 
hospitably  entertained  by  the  Cura,  Don  Sebastian  Castro. 

Chasuta  is  the  port  of  the  district  of  Tarapoto.  The  traders  have 
their  cargoes  carried  on  the  backs  of  Indians  between  Tarapoto  and 
Chasuta,  and  embar*  and  disembark  at  the  latter  place  to  avoid  the 
rapids  of  the  Pongo.  The  distance  by  land,  according  to  Uacket,  is 
eighteen  miles ;  and  the  cost  of  transportation,  half  a  pound  of  wax  for 
a  cargoe  of  seventy-five  pounds.  There  is  from  this  point  no  further 
obstruction  to  navigation  for  canoes;  and  very  little  labor  woul^ enable 
a  draught  of  six  feet  to  reach  Chasuta  at  the  lowest  stage  of  the  river. 

There  were  canoes  in  the  port,  just  arrived  from  below,  with  salt  fish 
and  wax ;  and  canoes  about  to  start  down  with  the  products  of  the 
district.  The  annual  value  of  the  commerce  between  this  place  and 
below  is  fifteen  hundred  dollars.  All  articles  which  can  readily  be 
transported  on  the  backs  of  mules,  or  Indians,  come  from  Lima,  by  the 
way  of  Chachapoyaa  and  Moyobamba.  These  are  principally  articles 
of  wearing  apparel,  or  stuff  to  make  them  of.  Heavier  articles — such  as 
iron,  iron  implements,  copper  kettles,  (for  distilling,)  guns,  crockery, 
Ac. — come  from  below.  The  axes  are  narrow,  worthless  things,  made  in 
Portugal,  and  sold  in  Taraj)oto  for  a  dollar  in  money,  without  handles. 
Iron  (of  which  the  inhabitants  are  very  careful  to  buy  Swedish  only) 
is  worth  in  Tarapoto  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  pound.  A  common 
plate  for  the  dinner  table  is  worth  twenty  five  cents;  a  cup  and  saucer, 
twelve  and  a  half  cents ;  a  glass  with  handle  to  drink  water,  fifty  cents ; 


VAC  A  MARINA.  163 

a  small  glass  to  drink  spirits,  twenty-five  cents ;  a  small  basin  to  wash 
the  face  in,  twenty-five  cents ;  looking-glass  of  one  and  a  half  foot  long, 
and  a  foot  wide,  seventy-five  cents ;  penknife  of  one  blade,  fifty  cents ; 
small  hand-bells  for  the  churches,  fifty  cents ;  a  pair  of  coarse  scissors, 
eighteen  and  three-quarter  cents ;  a  long-pointed,  white-handled  knife, 
thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents ;  small  slates,  with  pencil  and  sponge,  one 
dollar ;  coarse  sabres,  with  wooden  handle,  seventy-five  cents ;  jews- 
harpj  twelve  and  a  half  cents ;  horn  buttons,  six  and  a  quarter  cents  the 
dozen.  Morey  gave  for  a  common  Yankee  clock,  on  the  Amazon, 
seventeen  dollars  and  fifty  cents.     These  are  money  values. 

One  will  be  told  that  these  articles  are  sold  at  double  these  prices ; 
but  money,  on  account  of  its  scarcity,  is  worth  double  its  nominal  value  ; 
thus  a  yard  of  tocuyo,  (the  most  common  currency,)  which  is  always 
valued  in  Nauta,  Febas,  Loreto,  &c.,  at  twenty-five  cents  in  exchange 
for  efectos,  or  goods,  may  be  bought  there  for  twelve  and  a  half  cents 
specie.  The  traveller  should  be  aware  of  this,  or  he  may  be  paying 
double  prices  for  things. 

The  salt  fish  brought  up  from  below  is  in  large  pieces  of  about  eight 
pounds  each,  cut  from  the  vaca  marina — the  paTjshi,  a  fish  of  one 
hundred  and  fifty  pounds  weight — and  the  gamitana^  a  large  flat  fish, 
like  the  skate.  The  piece  is  worth  twelve  and  a  half  cents,  money,  in 
Tarapoto,  and  twenty -five  cents  in  Moyobamba. 

The  vaca  marina  (sea  cow)  of  the  Spaniards,  and  peixe  hoy  (fish  ox) 
of  the  Portugese,  (also  found  in  our  Florida  streams,  and  there  called 
manatee,)  is  found  in  great  numbers  on  the  Amazon  and  its  principal 
tributaries.  It  is  an  animal  averaging,  when  full  grown,  about  nine 
feet  in  length,  and  six  in  circumference.  It  has  much  the  appearance 
of  a  large  seal,  with  a  smooth  skin,  dark  on  the  back,  a  dirty  white  on 
the  belly,  and  thinly  sprinkled  with  coarse  hairs.  The  eyes  and  ears 
(or  rather  holes  for  hearing)  are  very  small.  The  mouth  is  also  small, 
though  it  looks  large  on  the  outside,  on  account  of  a  very  thick  and  wide 
upper  lip,  which  is  shaped  like  that  of  an  ox.  In  the  one  I  examined, 
which  was  a  young  female,  I  could  discover  neither  tongue  nor  teeth, 
but  a  thick,  rough,  and  hard,  fleshy  cushion  attached  to  both  upper  and 
lower  jaws,  which  seemed  to  me  very  well  adapted  to  masticating  the 
grass  which  grows  upon  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  which  is  its  princi- 
pal food.  The  tail  is  broad  and  flat,  and  is  placed  horizontally.  This, 
with  two  large  fins  far  in  advance,  and  very  near  the  jaws,  enables  it  to 
move  in  the  water  with  considerable  rapidity.  It  is  not  able  to  leave 
the  water ;  but  in  feeding  it  gets  near  the  shore  and  raises  its  head 
out.    It  is,  when  feeding,  most  often  taken  by  the  Indians.    An  ordi- 


164  CHASUTA. 

nary-sized  vaca  marina  will  yield  from  thirty-five  to  forty  pounds  of 
manteca,  wliicli  will  sell  iu  Tarapoto  for  three  cents  the  pound,  money ; 
besides  ten  pieces  of  salt  fish,  worth  twelve  and  a  half  cents  each.  Fifty 
cents  is  the  common  price  of  the  fish  where  it  is  taken.  The  governor 
general  of  the  missions  told  me  that  two  men  in  his  employment  at 
Chorococha,  on  the  Amazon,  had  taken  seven  for  him  in  eight  days. 
The  flesh,  salted  or  dried,  is  a  good  substitute  for  pork.  It  is  put  up  in 
large  jars  in  its  own  fat,  and  is  called  michira. 

Chasuta  is  an  Indian  village  of  twelve  hundred  inhabitants,  situated 
on  a  plain  elevated  about  twenty-five  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the 
river.  It  is  frequently  covered  in  the  full,  and  the  people  take  their 
canoes  into  their  houses  and  live  in  them.  The  diseases,  as  all  along  the 
river,  are  pleurisy,  tarbardillo,  and  sarna.  The  small-pox  sometimes 
makes  its  appearance,  but  does  little  damage.  It  is  a  very  healthy  place, 
and  few  die. 

The  Indians  of  Chasuta  are  a  gentle,  quiet  race ;  very  docile,  and  very 
obedient  to  their  priest,  always  saluting  him  by  kneeling  and  kissing  his 
hand.  They  are  tolerably  good  boatmen,  but  excel  as  hunters.  Like 
all  the  Indians,  they  are  much  addicted  to  drink.  I  have  noticed  that 
the  Indians  of  this  country  are  reluctant  to  shed  blood,  and  seem  to  have 
a  horror  of  its  sight.  I  have  known  them  to  turn  away  to  avoid  killing 
a  chicken,  when  it  was  presented  to  one  for  that  purpose.  The  Indian 
whom  Ijurra  struck  did  not  complain  of  the  pain  of  the  blow,  but, 
bitterly  and  repeatedly,  that  "  his  blood  had  been  shed."  They  eat 
musquitoes  that  they  catch  on  their  bodies,  with  the  idea  of  restoring 
the  blood  which  the  insect  has  abstracted. 

The  padre  told  me  that  the  fee  for  a  marriage  was  four  pounds  of 
wax,  which  was  the  perquisite  of  the  sacristan ;  for  a  burial,  two,  which 
went  to  the  sexton ;  and  that  he  was  regaled  with  a  fowl  for  a  christen- 
ing. He  complained  of  the  want  of  salary,  or  fees ;  and  said  that  it  was 
impossible  for  a  clergyman  to  live  unless  he  engaged  in  trade.  Eveiy 
year  the  governor  appoints  twelve  men  to  serve  him.  The  commission 
runs,  "For  the  service  of  our  holy  mother  church;"  but  it  means  the 
curate.  It  is  an  office  of  distinction,  and  the  Indians  crave  it.  They  are 
called  Fiscales.  They  work  the  padre's  chacra  and  trapiche ;  fish  for 
him ;  hunt  for  him ;  (the  fishermen  and  hunters  are  called  mitayos ; 
this  is  a  remnant  of  an  oppressive  old  Spanish  law  called  mita,  by  which 
certain  services,  particularly  in  the  mines,  were  exacted  of  the  Indians  ^ 
do  his  washing ;  wait  upon  his  table ;  and  carry  on  for  him  his  traflSc 
on  the  river,  by  which  he  gains  his  salt  fish  and  the  means  to  buy 
crockery  for  his  table. 


SALTO   DE    AGUIRRE.  165 

I  bought  wax  of  the  curate  to  pay  for  the  canoes  and  boatmen  to 
Yurimaguas.  The  men  desired  money,  and  I  told  the  cur^e  that  he 
had  better  let  me  pay  them  in  money,  as  to  be  familiar  with  its  use 
would  tend  to  civilize  them.  But  he  said  that  they  did  not  know  its 
value,  and  would  only  hoard  it  up  or  use  it  as  ornaments.  I  don't  know 
what  else  he  will  do  with  it,  for  certainly  it  never  circulates.  I  have 
not  seen  a  dollar  since  I  left  Huanuco,  except  those  that  were  in  my  own 
hands.  That  the  Indians  have  no  idea  of  its  value  is  evident.  I  bought 
a  pucuna  of  one.  He  desired  money  ;  and  his  first  demand  was  four 
dollars ;  which  I  refused  to  give.  He  then  said  six  reals,  (seventy-five 
cents.)  I  gave  him  a  dollar,  which  I  thought  would  pay  him  for  the 
time  and  labor  necessary  to  make  another. 

As  we  were  now  clear  of  the  dangers  of  the  river,  and  were  to  be 
more  exposed  to  sun  and  rain,  we  had  coverings  made  of  hoop-poles,  and 
thatched  with  palm,  fitted  to  the  canoe.  The  one  over  the  stern,  for  the 
accommodation  of  the  patron,  covers  about  six  feet  of  it,  and  makes  a 
good  den  to  retreat  to  in  bad  weather.  It  is  called  by  the  Indians 
pamacari.  The  one  fitted  over  the  cargo,  in  the  body  of  the  boat,  is 
called  armayari.  It  is  narrower  than  the  other,  allowing  room  for  the 
Indians  to  sit  and  paddle  on  each  side  of  it. 

August  25. — We  left  Chasuta  in  company  with  two  canoes ;  one 
belonging  to  a  Portuguese,  resident  of  Tarapoto,  carrying  a  cargo  to 
Nauta ;  and  the  other  manned  by  the  Fiscales,  and  carrying  the  padre's 
little  venture  of  salt.  We  passed  the  salt  hills  of  Callana  Yacu,  where 
the  people  of  Chasuta  and  the  Indians  of  Ucayali  and  Maraiion  get 
their  salt.  The  hills  are  not  so  high  as  those  of  Pilluana,  and  the  salt 
seems  more  mixed  with  red  earth.  It  "crops  out"  on  the  banks  of  the 
river,  which  are  shelving,  and  rise  into  gentle  hills  as  they  recede,, 
covered  with  bushes  and  small  trees.  A  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards 
we  entered  a  more  hilly  country  ;  river  narrow,  shallow,  and  rapid  ;  its 
depth  fifteen  feet,  and  its  current  four  and  a  half  miles  the  hour.  Soon 
after  we  passed  between  clifis  of  dark-red  rocks,  where  the  river  deep- 
ened to  forty-two  feet.  On  one  of  these  rocks,  appearing  like  a  gigantic 
boulder  of  porphyry,  were  cut  rude  figures  of  saints  and  crosses,  with 
letters  which  are  said  to  express  "  The  leap  of  the  Traitor  Aguirre  ;"  but 
they  were  too  much  worn  by  time  and  weather  for  me  to  make  them 
out.  There  were  more  recent  cuttings  in  the  rock.  One  of  them  were 
the  letters  VR,  the  work,  I  imagine,  of  an  Englishman  belonging  to  the 
circus  company.  The  pass  is  called  "El  Salto  de  Aguirre."  We 
camped  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river,  having  passed  the  country  of  the 
Infidels, 


166  RIVER   STA.    CATALINA. 

August  2G. — Being  in  company  with  Antonio,  the  Portuguese,  who, 
knows  how  to  arrange  matters,  we  get  a  cup  of  coflee  at  the  peep  of 
day  and  are  ofl"  by  half  past  5  a,  m.  At  five  miles  of  distance  we 
passed  the  lower  extremity  of  the  Pongo,  which  commences  at  Shapaja. 
"  Pongo"  is  an  Indian  word,  and  is  applied  to  designate  the  place  where 
a  river  breaks  through  a  range  of  hills,  and  where  navigation  is  of  course 
obstructed  by  rocks  and  rapids.  The  place  where  the  Maranon  breaks 
its  way  through  the  last  chain  of  hills  that  obstructs  its  course  is  called 
the  Pougo  de  Manseriche.  This  is  the  Pongo  do  Chasuta.  There  is 
only  one  mal-paso  below  Chasuta  ;  it  is  called  the  mal-paso  del  Oahilan^ 
and  is  just  below  the  Salto  de  Aguirre.  It  is  insignificant,  and  I  should 
not  have  noticed  it  at  all,  but  that  it  was  pointed  out  to  me,  and  said  to 
be  dangerous  for  canoes  in  the  full  of  the  river. 

After  passing  the  Pongo,  we  entered  upon  a  low,  flat  country,  where 
the  river  spreads  out  very  wide,  and  is  obstructed  by  islands  and  sand- 
banks. This  is  the  deposit  from  the  Pongo.  In  the  channel  where  wo 
passed,  I  found  a  scant  five  feet  of  water;  I  suspect,  but  I  could  not  find 
out,  that  more  water  may  be  had  in  some  of  the  other  channels.  This 
shoal  water  is  but  for  a  short  distance,  and  the  soundings  soon  deepened 
to  twelve  and  eighteen  feet.  Small  pebbly  islands  are  forming  in  the 
river,  and  much  drift-wood  from  above  lodges  on  them.  After  having 
stopped  two  hours  to  breakfast,  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Chijiurana^ 
which  is  about  twenty  yards  wide. 

This  river  flows  from  the  Pampa  del  Sacramento,  and  aflbrds,  when 
it  is  full,  a  canoe  navigation  of  about  forty  miles,  taking  four  days  to 
accomplish  it,  on  account  of  shoals  and  fallen  trees.  This  distance 
brings  the  traveller  to  the  port  of  Yanayacjiy  where,  in  1835,  when 
Lieutenant  Smyth  travelled  this  route,  there  was  one  hut ;  there  is  not 
one  now.  A  walk  over  a  plain  for  twenty-five  miles  reaches  tbe  village 
of  Sta.  Catalina,  which  then  had  thirty  families;  now  one  hundred  and 
sixty  inhabitants ;  so  that  it  has  changed  very  little  in  all  this  time. 
Embarking  at  Sta.  Catalina,  on  the  river  of  the  same  name,  the  traveller, 
in  two  days  of  a  very  diflicult  and  interrupted  navigation,  enters  the 
Ucayali ;  ascending  which  stream  a  day  and  a  half,  he  arrives  at  Sa- 
rayacu. 

I  was  desirous  of  going  to  Sarayacu  by  this  route,  but  the  river 
would  not,  at  tiiis  season,  afl'ord  Hufljoivnt  water  for  my  canoes  to  reach 
Yanayacu,  and  I  moreover  did  not  like  to  miss  the  lower  part  of  the 
Iluallaga. 

River  now  two  hundro<l  yards  wide,  free  from  obstruction,  with  a 
gentle  current,  and  between  eighteen  and  twenty-four  feet  of  depth. 


TURIMAGUAS.  167 

We  saw  turtle-tracks  in  the  sand  to-day  for  the  first  time ;  camped  on 
the  beach. 

August  21. — Saw  flesh-colored  porpoises ;  also  a  small  seal,  which 
looked  like  a  fur-seal ;  got  turtle-eggs.  The  turtles  crawl  out  upon  the 
beach  during  the  night,  deposit  their  eggs,  and  retreat  before  dawn, 
leaving,  however,  broad  tracks  in  the  sand,  by  which  their  deposits  are 
discovered.  We  must  have  got  upwards  of  a  thousand ;  I  counted  one 
hundred  and  fifty  taken  from  one  hole.  Since  we  have  passed  the 
Pongo  we  have  encountered  no  stones ;  the  beaches  are  all  of  sand. 

August  28. — Arrived  at  Yurimaguas.  This  little  village,  situated 
upon  a  hill  immediately  upon  the  banks  of  the  river,  and  numbering  two 
hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants,  now  appears  almost  entirely  deserted. 
We  could  procure  neither  jjeons  nor  canoes.  The  men  were  away  in  the 
forest  collecting  wax  for  a  fiesta,  ordered  by  the  curate ;  and  the  sub- 
prefect  of  the  province,  who  had  been  gold-hunting  up  the  Santiago,  had 
taken  all  the  canoes  up  the  Cachiyacu  with  him  on  his  return  to  Moyo- 
bamba.  I  was  told  that  his  expedition  for  gold  up  the  Santiago,  which 
consisted  of  a  force  of  eighty  armed  men,  had  been  a  failure ;  that  they 
got  no  gold,  and  had  lost  five  of  their  company  by  the  attacks  of  the 
Huambisas  and  other  savages  of  the  Santiago.  This  may  not  be  true. 
The  sub-prefect  (I  was  told)  said  that  the  expedition  had  accomplished 
its  purpose,  which  was  simply  to  open  friendly  communications  with  the 
savages,  with  a  view  to  further  operations. 

With  great  diflSculty,  and  by  paying  doublfl,  I  persuaded  our  Chasu- 
tinos  to  take  us  on  to  Sta.  Cruz,  where  I  was  assured  ^  could  be  ao 
commodated  both  with  boats  and  men.  We  could  buy  nothing  at 
Yurimaguas  but  a  few  bunches  of  plantains  and  some  salt  fish  out  of  a 
passing  boat. 

An  island  divides  the  river  three- fourths  of  a  mile  above  Yurimaguas. 
The  southern  branch  is  the  channel ;  the  northern  one  is  closed  at  its 
lower  end  by  a  sand-bank  opposite  the  village. 

We  left  Yurimaguas  after  breakfasting.  Half  a  mile  below  the  village 
is  the  mouth  of  the  Cachiyacu.  This  river  is  the  general  route  between 
Moyobamba  and  the  ports  of  the  Amazon.  It  is  navigable  for  large 
canoes,  when  full,  (which  is  from  January  to  June,)  as  far  as  JBalza 
Puerto,  a  considerable  village,  five  days'  journey  from  Moyobamba.  It 
takes  nine  days  for  a  loaded  canoe  to  ascend  as  far  as  Balza  Puerto. 
Lieutenant  Maw  descended  this  river  in  1827,  Communication  is  also 
had  by  the  Cachiyacu  with  many  villages  situated  in  the  fine  country  be- 
tween the  Maranon  and  Huallaga  rivers :  so  that  Yurimaguas,  situated  at 
the  mouth  of  this  river,  and  having  open  communication  with  the  Atlantic, 


168  THE    RIVER. 

may  be  considered  as  occupying  an  important  position  in  any  scheme 
for  navigation  and  trade. 

"We  met  several  canoes  going  np  the  river  for  salt ;  canoes  passing 
each  other  on  the  river  sj)eak  at  a  great  distance  apart.  The  Indians 
use  a  sing-song  tone,  that  is  heard  and  understood  very  far,  without 
seeming  to  call  for  much  exertion  of  the  voice.  Every  year  at  this 
season  the  Indians  of  the  Maranon  and  Ucayali  make  a  voyage  up  the 
Iluallaga  for  their  supply  of  salt.  They  travel  slowly,  and  support 
themselves  hy  hunting,  fishing,  and  robbing  plantain  patches  on  their 
way. 

About  eight  miles  below  Yurimaguas,  an  island  with  extensive  sand- 
flats  occupies  nearly  the  whole  of  the  middle  of  the  river.  We  passed 
to  the  right,  and  I  found  but  a  scant  six  feet  of  water.  The  popero  said 
there  was  less  on  the  other  side ;  but  Antonio,  the  Portuguese,  passed 
there,  and  said  there  was  more.  lie  did  not  sound,  however.  "We  tried 
an  experiment  to  ascertain  the  speed  of  the  canoe  at  full  oar,  and  I  was 
surprised  to  find  that  six  men  could  not  paddle  it  faster  than  two  miles 
the  hour;  ourr.  is,  however,  a  very  heavy  and  clumsy  canoe.  AVe  have 
had  frequent  races  with  Antonio  and  the  Fiscales,  and  were  always 
beaten.  It  was  a  pretty  sight  to  see  the  boat  of  the  latter,  though  laden 
with  salt  to  the  water's  edge,  dance  by  us;  and,  although  beaten,  we  could 
not  sometimes  refrain  (as  their  puntero,  a  tall,  painted  Indian,  would  toss 
his  paddle  in  the  air  with  a  triumphant  gesture  as  he  passed)  from  giving 
a  hurrah  for  the  servants  of  the  church. 

Auffust  29. — "We  met  a  canoe  of  Conihos  Indians,  one  man  and  two 
women,  from  the  Ucayali,  going  up  for  salt.  'VA'^e  bought  (with  beads) 
some  turtle-eggs,  and  proposed  to  buy  a  monkey  they  had;  but  one  of 
the  women  clasped  the  little  beast  in  her  arms,  and  set  up  a  great  outcry 
lest  the  man  should  sell  it.  The  man  wore  a  long,  brown,  cotfon  gown, 
with  a  hole  in  the  neck  for  the  head  to  go  through,  and  short,  wide 
sleeves,  lie  had  on  his  ann  a  bracelet  of  monkey's  teeth;  and  the 
women  had  white  beads  hanging  from  the  septum  of  the  nose.  Their 
dress  was  a  cotton  petticoat  tied  round  the  waist;  and  all  were  filihy. 

Wo  are  now  getting  into  the  lake  country;  and  hence  to  the  muuth 
of  the  Amazon,  lakes  of  various  sizes,  and  at  irregiilar  distances,  border 
the  rivers.  They  all  comnmnicate  with  the  rivers  by  channels,  which 
are  commonly  dry  in  the  dry  season.  Tliey  are  the  resort  of  immense 
numbers  of  water- fowl,  particularly  cranes  and  cormorants;  and  the 
Indians,  at  the  i)roper  season,  take  many  fish  and  turtles  from  thetn. 

Many  of  these  lakes  are,  according  to  the  traditions  of  the  Indiansj 
guarded  by  an  immense  serpent,  which  is  able  to  raise  such  a  tempest 


THE    YACU    MAMA.  169 

in  the  lake  as  to  swamp  their  canoes,  when  it  immediately  swallows 
the  people.  It  is  called  in  the  "  Lengua  Inga  "  "  Yacu  Mama,"  or  mother 
of  the  waters ;  and  the  Indians  never  enter  a  lake  with  which  they  are 
not  familiar  that  they  do  not  set  up  an  obstreperous  clamor  with  their 
horns,  which  the  snake  is  said  to  answer ;  thus  giving  them  warning  of 
its  presence. 

I  never  saw  the  animal  myself,  but  will  give  a  description  of  it 
written  by  Father  Manuel  Castrucci  de  Vernazza,  in  an  account  of  his 
mission  to  the  Givaros  and  Zap'aros  of  the  river  Pastaza,  made  in  1845  : 

"  The  wonderful  nature  of  this  animal — its  figure,  its  size,  and  other 
circumstances — enchains  attention,  and  causes  man  to  reflect  upon  the 
majestic  and  infinite  power  and  wisdom  of  the  Supreme  Creator.  The 
sight  alone  of  this  monster  confounds,  intimidates,  and  infuses  respect 
into  the  heart  of  the  boldest  man.  He  never  seeks  or  follows  the  vic- 
tims upon  which  he  feeds  ;  but,  so  great  is  the  force  of  his  inspiration, 
that  he  draws  in  with  his  breath  whatever  quadruped  or  bird  may  pass 
him,  within  from  twenty  to  fifty  yards  of  distance,  According  to  its  size. 
That  which  I  killed  from  my  canoe  upon  the  Pastaza  (with  five  shots 
of  a  fowling-piece)  had  two  yards  of  thickness  and  fifteen  yards  of 
length  ;  but  the  Indians  of  this  region  have  assured  me  that  there  are 
animals  of  this  kind  here  of  three  or  four  yards  diameter,  and  from 
thirty  to  forty  long.  These  swallow  entire  hogs,  stags,  tigers*,  and  men, 
with  the  greatest  facility ;  but,  by  the  mercy  of  Providence,  it  moves 
and  turns  itself  very  slowly,  on  account  of  its  extreme  weight.  When 
moving,  it  appears  a  thick  log  of  wood  covered  with  scales,  and  dragged 
slowly  along  the  ground,  leaving  a  track  so  large  that  men  may  see  it 
at  a  distance  and  avoid  its  dangerous  ambush." 

The  good  father  says  that  he  observed  "  that  the  blood  of  this  animal 
flowed  in  jets,  (salia  k  chorros,)  and  in  enormous  abundance.  The  preju- 
dice of  the  Indians  in  respect  to  this  species  of  great  snakes  (believing 
it  to  be  the  devil  in  figure  of  a  serpent)  deprived  me  of  the'  acquisition 
of  the  dried  skin,  though  I  ofiered  a  large  gratification  for  it." 

It  is  almost  impossible  to  doubt  a  story  told  with  this  minuteness  of 
detail.  Doubtless  the  padre  met  with,  and  killed  the  boa-constrictor ; 
but  two  yards  of  thickness  is  scarcely  credible.  lie  writes  it  dos  varus 
de  grosor.  (Grosor  is  thickness.)  I  thought  the  father  might  have  meant 
two  yards  in  circumference,  but  he  afterwards  says  that  the  Indians 
reported  them  of  three  and  four  yards  in  diameter,  {de  diametro.) 

We  had  a  fresh  squall  of  wind  and  rain  from  the  northward  and  east- 
ward. The  Portuguese,  who  is  a  careful  and  timid  navigator,  and 
whose  motions  we  follow  because  he  is  a  capital  caterer,  and  has  a 


170 


THE    CATAO. 


wife  along  to  cook  for  us,  pulled  in  for  the  beach,  and  we  camped  for 
the  night.  The  beach  where  we  pitched  belongs  to  an  island,  or  rather 
what  is  an  island  when  the  river  is  full,  though  the  right-hand  channel 
is  now  dry;  the  left-hand  channel  runs  close  to  the  shore,  and  I  could 
find  but  five  feet  water  in  it,  though  there  was  probably  more  very  close 
to  the  shore,  which  was  bold.  The  obstruction  is  narrow,  and  could  be 
readily  cleared  away. 

^  Seventy  miles  below  Yurimaguas  is  Sta.  Cruz.  This  is  an  Indian 
village  of  a  tribe  called  Aouanos,  containing  three  hundred  and  fifty 
inhabitants.  The  lieutenant  governor  is  the  only  white  man  in  it. 
The  women  go  naked  down  to  their  hips,  and  the  children  entirely  so. 
I  was  quite  an  object  of  curiosity  and  fear  to  them  ;  and  they  seemed 
never  tired  of  examining  niy  spectacles.  The  pueblo  is  situated  on  an 
eminence,  as  most  of  the  villages  of  this  country  are,  to  avoid  inunda- 
tion. It  has  a  small  stream  running  by  it,  which  empties  into  the  river 
at  the  port,  and  is  navigable  in  the  rainy  season  for  loaded  canoes. 
The  convento  is  the  most  respectable-looking  house  on  the  river.  It  is 
divided  into  apartments  ;  has  ceilings ;  and  is  plastered,  inside  and  out, 
with  a  white  clay.  There  was  a  portico  in  the  rear,  and  it  looked  alto- 
gether as  if  it  had  been  designed  and  built  by  a  person  who  had  some 
taste  and  some  idea  of  pei-soual  comfort. 

I  obtained  at  this  place  the  sap  of  a  large  tree  called  catao,  which  is 
said  to  be  very  poisonous.  It  appears  to  be  acrid,  and  acts  like  a  pow- 
erful caustic.  The  man.  who  chopped  the  bark,  to  let  the  sap  run, 
always  turned  away  his  face  as  he  struck,  for  fear  of  its  getting  into  his 
eyes.  The  Indians  employ  it  for  the  purpose  of  curing  old  dull  sores. 
The  tree  is  generally  very  large ;  has  a  smooth  baik,  but  with  knots  on 
it  bearing  short  thorns.  The  leaf  is  nearly  circular ;  it  is  called  in  Bra- 
zil assacu,  and  is  there  thought  to  bo  a  remedy  for  leprosy.  We  gath- 
ered also  some  leaves  and  root  of  a  running  plant  called  guaco,  which, 
steeped  in  spirits,  and  applied  internally  and  externally,  is  said  to  be  an 
antidote  to  the  bite  of  a  snake.  I  think  it  probable  that  this  may  be  a 
fancy  of  the  Indians,  originating  from  the  fact  that  the  leaf  has  some- 
thing the  appearance  and  color  of  a '  snake-skin.  There  is  a  great 
abundance  of  it  all  over  the  Montana. 

We  found  difficulty  in  getting  canoes  at  this  place.  The  only  one  that 
would  accommodate  ourselves  and  baggage  belonged  to  the  church,  and, 
like  its  mistress  in  Peru,  it  was  in  rather  a  dilapidated  condition.  We  bar- 
gained for  it  with  the  curaca,  (chief  of  the  Indians,  and  second  in  author- 
ity to  the  lieutenant  governor ;)  but  when  the  lieutenant  returned  from 
his  chacra,  where  ho  had  been  setting  out  plantains,  he  refused  to  let  us 


THE    PARAGUA.  171 

have  it,  on  the  ground  that  it  wanted  repairs.  We  were,  therefore, 
obliged  to  take  two  small  ones  that  would  barely  carry  the  trunks  and 
boxes,  and  embark  ourselves  in  the  canoe  of  the  Portuguese. 

We  have  found  this  man,  Don  Antonio  da  Costa  Viana,  and  his 
family,  quite  a  treasure  to  us  on  the  road.  He  is  a  stout,  active  little 
fellow,  about  fifty  years  of  age,  with  piercing  black  eyes,  long  black 
■curls,  a  face  burned  almost  to  negro  blackness  by  the  sun,  deeply  pitted 
with  the  small-pox,  and  with  a  nose  that,  as  Ijurra  tells  him,  would  make 
a  cut-water  for  a  frigate.  He  is  called  paragud,  (a  species  of  parrot,) 
from  his  incessant  talk ;  and  he  brags  that  he  is  "  as  well  known  on  the 
river  as  a  dog."  He  has  a  chacra  of  sugar-cane  and  tobacco,  with  a 
trapiche,  at  Tarapoto.  He  sells  the  spirits  that  he  makes  for  tocuyo,  and 
carries  the  tocuyo,  tobacco,  and  chancaca  to  Nauta,  selling  or  rather  ex- 
changing as  he  goes.  His  canoe  is  fifty  feet  long  and  three  broad,  and 
can-ies  a  cargo  which  he  values  at  five  hundred  dollars  ;  that  is,  five  hun- 
dred in  efectos — two  hundred  and  fifty  in  money.  It  is  well  fitted  with 
armayari  and  pamacari,  and  carries  six  peons — Antonio,  himself,  his 
wife,  and  his  adopted  daughter,  a  child  of  ten  years ;  besides  affording 
room  for  the  calls  of  hospitality.  My  friend  is  perfect  master  of  all 
ajound  him  ;  (a  little  tyrannical,  perhaps,  to  his  family ;)  knows  all  the 
reaches  and  beaches  of  the  river,  and  every  tree  and  shrub  that  grows 
upon  its  banks.  He  is  intelligent,  active,  and  obliging ;  always  busy : 
now  twisting  fishing-lines  of  the  fibres  of  a  palm  called  chainhira  ;  now 
hunting  turtle-eggs,  robbing  plantain-fields,  or  making  me  cigars  of 
tobacco-leaves  given  me  by  the  priest  of  Chasuta.  Every  beach  is  a 
house  for  him ;  his  peons  build  his  rancho .  and  spread  his  musquito 
cmlain  ;  his  wife  and  child  cook  his  supper.  His  mess  of  salt  fish,  turtle- 
eggs,  and  plantains  is  a  feast  for  him  ;  and  his  gourd  of  coffee,  and  pipe 
afterwards,  a  luxury  that  a  king  might  envy.  He  is  always  well  and 
happy.  I  imagine  he  has  picked  up  and  hoarded  away,  to  keep  him  in 
his  old  age,  or  to  leave  his  wife  when  he  dies,  some  few  of  the  dollars 
that  are  floating  about  here ;  and,  in  short,  I  don't  know  a  more  enviable 
person.  It  is  true  Dona  Antonio  gets  drunk  occasionally ;  but  he  licks 
hor  if  she  is  troublesome,  and  it  seems  to  give  him  very  little  concern. 

I  sometimes  twit  him  with  the  immorality  of  robbing  the  poor  In- 
dians of  their  plantains ;  but  he  defends  himself  by  saying,  "  That  to  take 
plantains  is  not  to  steal ;  to  take  a  knife,  or  a  hatchet,  or  an  article  of 
clothing,  is ;  but  plantains,  not.  Every  body  on  the  river  does  it.  It  is 
necessary  to  have  them,  and  he  is  perfectly  willing  to  pay  for  them,  if 
he  could  find  the  owners  and  they  would  sell  them."  The  old  rascal  is 
v^y  religious  too ;  he  has,  hanging  under  the  parmacari  of  his  boat,  a 


172  LAGUNA. 

silver  Crucifix  and  a  wooden  St.  Anthony.  He  thinks  a  priest  next  of 
kin  tg  a  saint,  and  a  saint  perfection.  He  said  to  me,  as  liis  wife  was 
combing  hor  hair  in  the  canoe,  "A  bald  woman,  Don  Luis,  must-be  a 
very  ugly  thing :  not  so  a  bald  man,  because  St.  Peter,  you  know,  was 
bald  ;"  and  I  verily  believe  that,  although  he  is  very  vain  of  his  black 
curls,  were  he  to  lose  them,  he  would  find  consolation  in  the  reflection 
that  he  had  made  an  approach,  in  appearance  at  least,  towards  his  great 
exemplar. 

We  shoved  off  from  Sta.  Cruz  at  sunset,  and  camped  on  the  beach  a 
mile  lower  down.  It  is  very  well  to  do  this,  for  the  canoe-men  are  taken 
away  from  the  temptation  of  the  villages,  and  are  sober  and  ready  for 
an  early  start  next  morning. 

August  31. — Started  at  6  a.  m. ;  camped  on  the  beach  at  a  quarter- 
past  5  p.  m. 

September  1. — Hea^y  clouds  and  rains  both  to  the  northward  and 
eastward  and  southward  and  westward,  with  an  occasional  spit  at  us ; 
but  we  set  the  rain  at  defiance  under  the  palm-thatched  roof  of  Antonio. 
At  half-past  3  p.  m.  we  arrived  at  Laguna.  This  town,  the  principal 
one  of  the  district  and  the  residence  of  the  governor,  is  one  and  a  half 
mile  from  the  port.  The  walk  is  a  pleasant  one  through  the  forest  at 
this  season,  but  is  probably  mud  to  the  knees  in  the  rains.  It  contains 
one  thousand  and  forty-four  inhabitants ;  and  the  productions  of  the 
neighborhood  are  wax,  sarsaparilla,  copal,  copaiba,  and  salt  fish.  I  have 
seen  all  these  in  the  hands  of  the  Indians,  but  in  small  quantities ;  there 
being  so  little  demand  for  them. 

The  Cocamillas,  who  /orm  the  largest  part  of  the  population  of 
Laguna,  are  lazy  and  drunken.  They  are  capital  boatmen,  however, 
when  they  have  no  liquor ;  and  I  had  more  comfort  with  them  than 
■with  any  other  Indians  except  those  of  Tingo  Maria. 

September  2. — Waiting  for  boats  and  boatmen.  There  are  no  large 
canoes,  and  we  are  again  compelled  to  take  two.  I  was  surprised  at 
this  as  I  was  led  to  believe — and  I  thought  it  probable — that  the  nearer 
we  got  to  the  Maraiion  the  larger  we  should  find  the  boats,  and  the 
means  of  navigation  more  complete.  But  I  have  met  with  nothing  but 
misstatements  in  my  whole  course.  The  impression  I  received  in  Lima 
of  the  Montana  was,  that  it  was  a  country  abounding  not  only  with  the 
necessaries,  but  with  the  luxuries  of  life,  so  far  as  eating  was  concerned. 
Yet  I  am  now  satisfied  that  if  one  hundred  men  were  to  start  without 
provisions,  on  the  route  I  have  travelled,  the  half  must  inevitably  perish 
for  want  of  food.  Of  meat  there  is  almost  none ;  and  even  salt  fish, 
yuccas,  and  plantains  are  scarce,  and  often  not  to  be  had;  game  is 


TRAVELLING   MERCHANTS.  173 

• 

shy ;  and  the  fish,  of  which  there  are  a  great  number,  do  not  readily 
take  the  hook;  of  fruit  I  hare  seen  literally  none  edible  since  leaving 
Huanuco. 

At  Chasuta  I  was  assured  that  I  should  find  at  Yurimaguas  every 
facility  for  the  prosecution  of  my  journey ;  yet  I  could  get  neither  a 
boat  nor  a  man,  and  had  to  persuade  my  Chasuta  boatmen  to  carry  me 
on  to  Sta.  Cruz,- -where  the  Yurimaguas  people  said  there  would  be  no 
further  difliculty.  At  Sta.  Cruz  I  could  get  but  two  small  and  rotten 
canoes,  with  three  men  to  each,  for  Laguna,  which,  being  the  great  port 
of  the  river,  could  in  the  estimation  of  the  people  at  Sta.  Cruz,  furnish 
me  with  the  means  of  crossing  the  Atlantic  if  necessary.  I  had  been 
always  assured  that  I  could  get  at  Laguna  one  hundred  Cocamillas,  if  I 
wanted  them,  as  a  force  to  enter  among  the  savages  of  the  Ucayali ; 
but  here,  too,  I  could  with  difficulty  get  six  men  and  two  small  canoes 
to  pass  me  on  to  Nauta,  which  I  expected  to  find,  from  the  description 
of  the  people  above,  a  small  New  York.  Had  it  not  been  that  Senhor 
Cauper,  at  that  place,  had  just  then  a  boat  unemployed,  which  he  was 
willino-  to  sell,  I  should  have  had  to  abandon  my  expedition  up  the 
Ucayali,  and  build  me  a  raft  to  float  down  the  Maraiion. 

We  found  at  the  port  of  Laguna  two  travelling  merchants,  a  Portu- 
guese and  a  Brazilian.  They  had  four  large  boats  of  about  eight  tons 
each,  and  two  or  three  canoes.  •  Their  cargo  consisted  of  iron,  steel, 
iron  implements,  crockery-ware,  wine,  brandy,  copper  kettles,  coarse, 
short  swords,  (a  very  common  implement  of  *he  Indians,)  guns,  ammu- 
nition, salt  fish,  &c.,  which  they  expected  to  exchange  in  Moyobamba 
and  Chacbapoyas  for  straw-hats,  tocuyo,  sugar,  coffee,  and  money. 
They  were  also  buying  up  all  the  sarsaparilla  they  could  find,  and 
despatching  it  back  in  canoes.  They  gave  for  the  arroba,  of  twenty- 
five  pounds,  three  dollars  and  fifty  cents  in  goods,  which  probably  cost 
in  Para  one  dollar.  They  estimated  the  value  of  their  cargoes  at  five 
thousand  dollars.  I  have  no  doubt  that  two  thousand  dollars  in  money 
would  have  bought  the  whole  concern,  boat#and  all ;  and  that  with 
tliis  the  traders  would  have  drifted  joyfully  down  the  river,  well  satisfied 
with  their  year's  work.  They  invited  us  to  breakfast  off  roast  pig ;  and 
I  thought  that  I  never  tasted  anything  better  than  the /anw^a,  which  I 
saw  for  the  first  time. 

Farinha  is  a  general  substitute  for  bread  in  all  the  course  of  the 
Amazon  below  the  Brazilian  frontier.  It  is  used  by  all  classes,  and  in 
immense  quantities  by  the  Indians  and  laborers.  Our  boatmen  in 
Brazil  were  always  contented  with  plenty  of  salt  fish  and  farinha. 
Every  two  or  three  hours  of  the  day,  whilst  travelling,  they  would  stop 


174  MAKIXG    FARIXHA. 

rowing,  pour  a  little  water  upon  a  large  gourd-fiill  of  farinha,  and  pass 
around  the  mass  (which  they  called  piruo)  as  if  it  were  a  delicacy. 

The  women  generally  make  the  farinha.  They  soak  the  root  of  the 
mandioc  (Jatropha  Manihot)  in  water  till  it  is  softoned  a  little,  when 
they  scrape  off  the  skin,  and  grate  it  upon  a  board  smeared  witli  some 
of  the  adhesive  gums  of  the  forest  and  sprinkled  with  pebbles.  The 
white  grated  mass  is  put  in  a  conical-shaped  bag,  made  of  the  coarse 
fibres  of  a  paltfa,  and  called  tapiti.  The  bag  is  hung  up  to  a  peg 
driven  into  a  tree,  or  a  post  of  the  shed  ;  a  lever  is  put  through  a  loop 
at  the  bottom  of  the  bag;  the  short  end  of  the  lever  is  placed  under  a 
chock  nailed  to  the  post  below,  and  the  woman  hangs  her  weight  on 
the  long  end.  This  elongates  the  bag,  and  brings  a  heavy  pressure 
upon  the  mass  within,  causing  all  the  juico  to  ooze  out  through  the 
interstices  of  the  wicker-work  of  the  bag.  When  sufficiently  pressed 
the  mass  is  put  on  the  floor  of  a  mud  oven ;  heat  is  applied,  and  it 
is  stirred  with  a  stick  till  it  granulates  in  very  irregular  grains,  (the 
largest  about  the  size  of  our  No.  2  shot,)  and  is  sufficiently  toasted  to 
drive  off  all  the  poisonous  qualities  which  it  has  in  a  crude  state.  It 
is  then  packed  in  baskets  (lined  and  covered  with  palm-leaves)  of 
about  sixty-four  pounds  weight,  which  are  generally  sold,  all  along  the 
river,  at  from  seventy-five  cents  to  one  dollar.  The  sediment  of  the 
juice  which  runs  from  the  tapiti  is  t»pioca,  and  is  used  to  make  cus- 
tards, puddings,  starch,  ifec. 

September  3. — Our  boatmen  came  down  to  the  port  at  8  a.  m.  They 
were  accompanied,  as  usual,  by  their  wives,  carrying  their  bedding, 
their  jars  of  masato,  and  even  their  paddles ;  for  these  fellows  are  too 
lazy,  when  on  shore,  to  do  a  hand^s  turu ;  though  when  embarked  they 
work  freely,  (these  Cocamillas,)  and  are  gay,  cheerful,  ready,  and  obe- 
dient. The  dress  of  the  women  is  nothing  more  than  a  piece  of  cot- 
ton cloth,  generally  dark  brown  in  color,  wrappetl  around  the  loins 
and  reaching  to  the  knee.  I  was  struck  with  the  apj>earance  of  one, 
tlie  only  pretty  Indian  fjrl  I  have  seen.  She  appeared  to  be  about 
thirteen  years  of  age,  and  was  the  wife  of  one  of  our  boatmen.  It  was 
amusing  to  see  the  slavish  respect  with  whifh  she  waitinl  upon  the 
young  savage,  (himself  about  nineteen,)  and  the  lordly  indifference  with 
which  he  received  her  attentions.  She  was  as  straight  as  an  arrow, 
deliciittly  and  elegantly  formed,  and  had  a  free,  wild,  Indian  lo<jk,  tliat 
was  quite  taking. 

"NVe  got  off  at  a  quarter  pa.st  nine ;  the  nierchant.s  at  the  same  time ; 
and  the  padre  als<j  returns  to-day  to  YuriinaguaH;  so  that  we  make  a 
haul  uj)on  the  population  of  Laguua,  and  earn,'  off  about  seventy  of  ita 


MOUTH   OF    THE    HlJALLAGA.  175 

inliabitants.  Twenty-five  miles  below  Laguna,  we  arrived  at  tlie  mouth 
of  tlie  Huallaga.  Several  islands  occupy  the  middle  of  it.  The  chan- 
nel runs  near  the  left  bank.  Near  the  middle  of  the  river  we  had  nine 
feet ;  .passing  towards  the  left  bank  we  suddenly  fell  into  forty-five  feet. 
Tbe  Huallaga,  just  above  the  island,  is  three  hundred  and  fifty  yards 
wide ;  the  Amazon,  at  the  junction,  five  hundred.  The  water  of  both 
rivers  is  very  muddy  and  filthy,  particularly  that  of  the  former,  which 
for  some  distance  within  the  mouth  is  covered  with  a  glutinous  scum, 
that  I  take  to  be  the  excrement  of  fish,  probably  that  of  porpoises. 

The  Huallaga,  from  Tingo  Maria,  the  head  of  canoe  navigation,  to 
Chasuta,  (from  which  point  to  its  mouth  it  is  navigable  for  a  draught 
of  five  feet  at  the  lowest  stage  of  the  river,)  is  three  hundred  and 
twenty-five  miles  long ;  costing  seventy-four  working  hours  to  descend 
it ;  and  falling  four  feet  and  twenty-seven  hundredths  per  mile.  From 
Chasuta  to  its  mouth  it  has  two  hundred  and  eighty-five  miles  of 
length,  and  takes  sixty-eight  hours  of  descent,  falling  one  foot  and 
twenty-five  hundredths  per  mile.  It  will  be  seen  that  these  distances 
are  passed  in  nearly  proportional  times.  This  is  to  be  attributed  to  the 
time  occupied  in  descending  the  malos  pasos,  for  the  currrent  is  more 
rapid  above  than  below.  The  difference  between  the  times  of  ascent 
and  descent  is,  on  an  average,  about  three  for  one.  It  is  proper  to 
state  here  that  all  my  estimates  of  distance,  after  embarkation  upon 
the  rivers,  being  obtained  from  measurement  by  the  lo^-Ihie,  are  in 
geographical  miles  of  sixty  to  the  degree,  »^ 


176  THE    AMAZON. 


CHAPTER   IX. 

Entrance  into  the  Amazon — Nauta — Upper  and  Lower  Missions  of  Mainas — 
Conversions  of  the  Ucayali — Trade  in  sarsaparills — Adrantages  of  trade  with 
this  country. 

The  river  upon  wliich  we  now  entered  is  tlae  main  trunk  of  the 
Amazon,  which  carries  its  Peruvian  name  of  Maraiion  as  far  as  Taba- 
tinga,  at  the  Brazilian  frontier ;  below  which,  and  as  far  as  the  junction 
of  the  Rio  Negro,  it  takes  the  name  of  Solimoens ;  and  thence  to  the 
ocean  is  called  Amazon.  It  is  the  same  stream  throughout,  and  to  avoid 
confusion  I  shall  call  it  Amazon  from  this  point  to  the  sea. 

The  march  of  the  great  river  in  its  silent  grandeur  was  sublime ;  but 
in  the  untamed  might  of  its  turbid  waters,  as  they  cut  away  its  banks, 
tore  down  the  gigantic  denizens  of  the  forest,  and  built  up  islands,  it  was 
awful.  It  rolled  through  the  wilderness  with  a  stately  and  solemn  air. 
Its  waters  looked  angry,  sullen,  and  relentless ;  and  the  whole  scene 
awoke  emotions  of  awe  and  dread — such  as  are  caused  by  the  funeral 
solemnities,  the  minute  gun,  the  howl  of  the  wind,  and  the  angry  tossing 
of  the  waves,  when  all  hands  are  called  to  bury  the  dead  in  a  troubled 
seat 

I  was  reminded  of  our  Mississippi  at  its  topmost  flood ;  the  waters 
are  quite  as  muddy  and  quite  as  turbid ;  but  this  stream  lacked  the 
charm  and  the  fascination  which  the  plantation  upon  the  bank,  the  city 
upon  the  bluff,  and  the  steamboat  upon  its  waters,  lends  to  its  fellow  of 
the  North ;  nevertheless,  I  felt  pleased  at  its  sight.  I  had  already 
travelled  seven  hundred  miles  by  water,  ,and  fancied  that  this  powerful 
stream  would  soon  carry  me  to  the  ocean ;  but  the  water-travel  was 
comparatively  just  begun ;  many  a  weary  month  was  to  elapse  ere  I 
should  again  look  upon  the  familiar  face  of  the  sea ;  and  many  a  time, 
when  worn  and  Avearied  with  the  canoe  life,  did  I  exclaim,  "This  river 
seems  interminable  !" 

Its  capacities  for  trade  and  commerce  are  inconceivably  great.  Its 
industrial  future  is  the  most  dazzling  ;  and  to  the  touch  of  steam,  settle- 
ment, and  cultivation,  this  rolling  stream  and  its  magni(icx;nt  water-shed 
would  start  up  into  a  display  of  industrial  results  that  would  indicate 
the  Valley  of  the  Amazon  as  one^  the  most  enchanting  regions  on  the 
face  of  the  earth. 


PI,  13. 


:.       --?>V.St 


>  ^-Jv-fe 


PrVemaazL  del. 


aiVARO. 


Wa.^ner  IMc.Cm^aiis  Iith  Phila. 


COUNT  CASTE  LNAU.  177 

From  its  mountains  you  may  dig  silver,  iron,  coal,  copper,  quicksilver, 
zinc,  and  tin ;  from  the  sands  of  its  tributaries  you  may  wash  o-old,  dia- 
monds, and  precious  stones ;  from  its  forests  you  may  gather  drugs  of 
virtues  the  most  rare,  spices  of  aroma  the  most  exquisite,  gums  and  resins 
of  the  most  varied  and  useful  properties,  dyes  of  hues  the  most  brilliant, 
with  cabinet  and  building -woods  of  the  finest  polish  and  most  enduring 
texture. 

Its  climate  is  an  everlasting  summer,  and  its  harvest  perennial.  I 
translate  from  a  book  of  travels  in  these  countries,  by  Count  Castelnau, 
(received  since  my  return  to  the  United  States,)  an  account  of  the 
capacities  of  some  of  the  southern  portions  of  this  vast  water-shed : 

"  The  productions  of  the  country  are  exceedingly  various.  The  sugar- 
cane,^ of  which  the  crop  is  gathered  at  the  end  of  eight  months  f^ora 
the  time  of  planting,  forms  the  chief  source  of  wealth  of  the  province' 
of  Cercado, 

"  Cofiee  is  cultivated  also  with  success  in  this  pro\ance,  and  in  that 
of  Chiquitos  yields  its  fruit  two  years  after  having  been  planted,  and 
requires  scarcely  any  attention.     Cocoa,  recently  introduced  into  these 
two  provinces,  gives  its  fruit  at  the  end  of  three  or  four  years  at  most. 
The  tamarind!  ^^hich  thrives  in  the  same  localities,  produces  its  harvest 
m  five  years.     Cotton  gives  annual  crops ;  there  are  two  varieties— the 
one  white,  the  other  yellow.    Tobacco  grows,  so  to  speak,  without  cultiva- 
tion in  the  province  of  Valle  Grande,  where  it  forms  the  principal  article 
of  commerce.     Indigo,  of  which  there  are  three  cultivated  kinds  and  one 
■wild,  is  equally  abundant.     Maize  yields  at  the  end  of  three  months  all 
the  year  round ;   it  is  also  cultivated  in  the  province  of  Cercado.     The 
cassave  produces  in  eight  months  after  planting;  there  are  two  kinds  of 
it— one  sweet,  and  the  other  bitter ;  the  fii-st  can  replace  the  potato,  and 
even  bread ;  the  second  is  only  good  for  starch.     There  is  an  enormous 
amount  of  kinds  or  varieties  of  bananas,  which  produce  in  the  year  from 
seed ;  they  are  specially  cultivated  in  the  province  of  Cercado.     Two 
kinds  of  rice— one  white,  the  other  colored— are  cultivated  in  the  two 
provinces  of  Cercado  and  Chiquitos.     They  produce  every  five  or  six 
months ;  they  say  it  is  found  wild  in  the  region  of  Chiquitos. 

"The  grape,  which  grows  well  everywhere,  and  especially  in  the 
province  of  Cordilleras,  where  it  was  cultivated  in  the  Missions  up  to 
the  time  of  the  Independence,  is  nevertheless  made  no  article  of  profit. 
It  will  some  day,  perhaps,  form  one  of  the  principal  sources  of  wealth 
of  this  country.  Wheat,  barley,  and  the  potato  might  be  cultivated 
with  advantage  in  the  provinces  of  Chiquitos  and  Cordilleras ;  but  till 
now  results  have  been  obtained  only  in  that  of  Valle  Grande.  The 
12 


17S  URARINAS. 

cultivation  of  cocoa  has  commenced  in  the  province  of  Cercado,  and 
it  is  also  found  in  a  wild  state,  as  well  as  the  Peruvian  bark,  on  the 
mountains  of  Samaripata.  As  we  have  already  said,  fruitii  al-jund  in 
this  region.  They  cultivate  there  principally  oianges,  lemons,  citrons, 
figs,  papaws,  pomegranates,  melons,  watermelons,  chirimoyas,  (which 
the. Brazilians  call  fruto  de  conde,)  pine  apples,  «S:c.  The  last  of  these 
fruits  grow  wild,  and  in  great  abiiiidanoe,  in  the  woods  of  Chiquitos. 
We  met  it,  particularly  the  evening  of  our  arrival,  at  Santa  Ana.  Its 
taste  is  excellent ;  but  it  leaves  in  the  mouth  sach  a  burning  sensation 
that  I  bitterly  repented  having  tasted  it.  They  cultivate  in  sufficient 
abundance,  in  the  province,  jalap,  Peruvian  bark,  sarsaparilla,  vanilla, 
rocou,  copahu.  ipecacuanha,  caoutchouc,  copal,  &c.  Woods  for  dyeing, 
cabinet  making,  and  building,  abound ;  and  the  people  of  the  country 
collect  carefully  a  multitude  of  gums,  roots,  and  barks,  to  which  they 
attribute  medicinal  virtues  the  most  varied.  In  many  points  in  the 
departments,  and  especially  in  the  provinces  of  Valle  Grande  and  Cor- 
dilleras, iron  is  found,  and  traces  of  quicksilver.  Gold  is  found  in  the 
province  of  Cercado,  near  the  village  of  San  Xavicr.  The  Jesuits 
wrought  mines  of  silver  in  the  mountains  of  Colchis.  Bon  Sebjvstian 
Rancas,  while  governor  of  Chiquitos,  announced  to  the  gqgemment  that 
diamt)nds,  of  very  fine  water,  had  been  found  in  the  streams  in  the  en- 
virons of  Santo  Corazon^ 

Scpkviher  4. — The  shores  of  the  river  are  low,  but  abrupt.  The 
lower  strata  next  to  the  water's  edge  are  of  sand,  hardening  into'  rock 
from  the  superincumbent  pressure  of  the  soil  with  its  great  trees.  There 
were  a  great  many  porpoises  sporting  in  the  river.  At  3  p.  m.  we 
passed  the  narrow  arm  of  the  river  that  runs  by  Urarinas,  a  small 
village  situated  on  the  left  bank.  The  channel  inside  the  island  seemed 
nearly  dry,  Ijurra,  however,  passed  through  it  in  a  small  canoe,  and 
bought  some  fowls  and  a  small  monkey  at  the  pueblo.  The  channel  of 
the  river  runs  near  the  right  bank.     Population  of  Urarina.s,  eighty. 

September  6. — Tho  jxitos  reales^a  large  and  beautiful  species  of  duck 
with  which  the  river  abounds,  are  now  breeding.  We  saw  numbers  «Jf 
pairs  cuiiducting  their  broods  over  the  water.  Though  the  young  ones 
could  not  fly,  they  could  dive  so  long  and  fast  that  we  could  not  catch 
th«"iu.  I  brought  home  a  pair  of  tlics*;  ducks,  and  find  that  tln-y  answer 
exai'lly  to  the  description  of  tins  Eijyptian  goos*'.  'I'hcy  b.ivi'  sniall 
horns  on  their  wings. 

We  met  canoes  of  Tarapoto  from  the  Ucayali  with  .s'lU  li>h  ;  also 
one  belonging  to  Urarinas,  returning  from  carrying  sarsa])arilla  to 
^auta. 


SAN  REGIS.  179 

September  6. — Passed  the  mouth  of  the  small  river  Airico  on  the 
left.  One  of  our  Indians  says  that  the  ascent  of  this  river  for  a  week 
brings  the  traveller  to  a  lake,  and  for  another  week,  to  mountains. 

We  have  had  quite  heavy  squalls  of  wind  and  rain  every  day  since 
entering  the  Amazon.  The  canoes  are  so  low  that  they  cannot  ride 
the  waves  of  fliid-river,  and  are  compelled  to  haul  in  for  the  land,  and 
wait  for  the  storm  to  pass.  We  saw  alligators  to-day,  for  the  first 
time.  . 

September  7. — Arrived  at  Parinari.  This  is  an  Indian  village  of 
three  hundred  and  thirty  inhabitants,  situated  on  a  hill  on  the  right 
bank  of  the  river.  It  is  about  twenty  feet  above  the  present  level  of 
the  river,  which  rises,  in  the  full,  to  within  three  feet  of  the  houses. 
The  people  live  principally  by  fishing,  and  gathering  sarsaparilla  to  sell 
at  Nauta.  The  lieutenant  governor  gave  us  some  spirits  made  of 
plantains.  It  was  vile  stuff;  very  strong:  and  is  said  to  be  unwhole- 
some. 

September  8. — Saw  Ronsocos ;  and  the  Fiscales  killed  six  howling 
monkeys  with  their  pucunas.  Passed  the  mouth  of  Tiffre  Yacu  en  the 
left.  It  is  seventy  yards  broad,  and  looks  deep  and  free  from  obstruc- 
tion. Its  waters  are  much  clearer  than  those  of  the  Amazon.  It  is 
navigable  for  canoes  a  long  way  up ;  and  a  considerable  quantity  of 
sarsaparilla  is  gathered  on  its  banks,  though  inhabited  by  savages,  who 
are  said  to  be  warlike  and  dangerous.  We  camped  at  night  on  an 
island  near  the  middle  of  the  river.  A  narrow  island  lay  between  us 
and  San  Regis^  a  small  pueblo  on  the  left  bank,  whence  we  could  hear 
the  sound  of  music  and  merry-making  all  night.  It  has  two  hundred 
and  ten  inhabitants. 

The  Fiscales,  cooking  their  big  monkeys  over  a  large  fire  on  the  beach, 
presented  a  savage  and  most  picturesque  night  scene.  They  looked  more 
like  devils  roasting  human  beings  than  like  servants  of  the  church. 

September  9. — Passed  a  channel  called  Pucati,  which  is  a  small 
mouth  of  the  Ucayali.  It  is  now  nearly  dry.  In  the  rainy  season  it  is 
passable  for  canoes ;  but  spreads  out  so  much  in  its  course  (forming 
small  lakes)  that  it  leaves  few  places  to  kindle  a  fire  on,  or  sleep ;  and 
is,  for  this  reason,  little  used.  It  takes  three  days  to  come  through  it 
from  the  Ucayali  to  the  Amazon ;  and  six  to  traverse  it  the  other  way. 
Soon  after  leaving  this,  we  passed  another  small  channel,  said  to  com- 
municate with  a  large  lake — a  large  one  probably  in  the  full,  when  this 
whole  country  between  the  Ucayali,  Amazon,  and  channel  of  Pucati,  is 
nearly  overflowed.  We  arrived  at  Nauta  at  noon,  having  travelled  two 
hundred  and  ten  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Huallaga, 


ISO  NAUTA. 

We  called  on  the  governor  general  of  the  Missions  of  Mainas,  Don 
Jose  Maria  Arebalo,  who  received  us  with  some  formality,  and  gave  us 
lodgings  in  one  of  the  houses  of  the  village — I  suspect,  turning  cut  the 
inhabitants  for  that  purpose.  My  companion,  Ijurra,  was  not  sure  of  a 
cordial  reception ;  for,  when  sub-prefect  of  the  province,  he  had  caused 
Arebalo  to  be  arrested  and  carried  prisoner  from  Balza  Buerto  to  Moyo- 
bamba.  But  our  friend  was  much  too  magnanimous  to  remember  old 
feuds,  and  he  and  Ijurra  soon  became  boon  companions. 

Nauta  is  a  fishing  village  of  one  thousand  inhabitants,  mostly  Indians 
of  the  Cocama  tribe,  which  is  distinct  from  that  of  the  Cocamillas  of 
Laguna.  It  has  a  few  white  residents  engaged  in  trading  with  the 
Indians  for  salt  fish,  wax,  and  sarsaparilla,  which  are  obtained  from  the 
Ucayali.  Don  Bernardino  Cauper,  an  old  Portuguese,  does  most  of  the 
business  of  the  place.  He  sends  parties  of  Indians  to  fish  or  gather 
sarsaparilla  upon  the  Napo  and  Ucuyali ;  and  he  has  two  or  three  boats 
(called  in  this  part  of  the  country  garreteas)  trading  down  the  river  as 
far  as  Egas.  He  supplies  all  the  country  above  with  foreign  articles 
from  Brazil,  and  receives  consignments  from  the  upper  country,  which 
he  sends  to  Egas. 

Don  Bernardino  lives  in  a  sort  of  comfort.  He  has  plenty  of  meat, 
(calling  turtle,  salt  fish,  and  fowls  meat,)  with  fariuha  from  below,  and 
beans  and  onions  from  his  little  garden.  There  is  good  tobacco  from 
above  to  smoke,  and  wholesome,  though  fiery,  Lisbon  wine  to  drink. 
I  have  been  frequently  struck  during  my  journey  with  tie  comparative 
value  of  things.  The  richest  man  of  a  village  of  one  thousand  inhab- 
itants, in  the  United  States,  would  think  Bernardino's  table  poorly  sup- 
plied, and  would  turn  up  his  nose  at  a  grass  hammock  slung  between 
two  hooks  in  the  shop  for  a  bed-place.  Yet  these  things  were  regal 
luxuries  to  us ;  and,  doubtless,  being  the  best  that  are  to  be  had,  Don 
Bernardino  is  perfectly  contented,  and  desires  nothing  better. 

The  old  gentleman  is  very  pious.  The  Cura  of  Pebas  was  at  this 
time  in  Nauta,  attending  to  the  repairs  of  the  church;  and  we  celebrated 
a  nine-days'  service  {I^ovena)  in  honor  of  our  Lady  of  Mercy,  the 
patroness  of  the  arms  of  Peru.  The  expenses  of  the  service  (being  a 
fee  for  the  padre  and  the  lighting  of  the  church  with  wax)  were  borne 
by  individuals.  The  padre  gave  the  first  day  ;  then  Senhor  Cauper ; 
then  his  wife,  his  wife's  sister,  his  son,  his  pretty  Brazilian  niece, 
Donna  Candida;  then  came  Arebalo;  then  Ijurra  and  I;  the  priest 
winding  up  on  Sunday.  But  my  old  friend  was  not  contented  with 
this ;  and  when  I  shoved  off  on  Monday  for  the  Ucayali,  I  left  him  en- 
gaged in  another  church  service,  setting  off  rockets,  and  firing,  from 


MISSIONS    OF    MAINAS.  181 

time  to  time,  an  old  blunderbuss,  loaded  to  the  muzzle,  in  Iionor  of  a 
miracle  that  had  happened  in  Rimini,  in  Italy,  some  year  and  a  half 
ago,  of  which  we  had  just  received  intelligence. 

The  governor  general  gave  me  some  statistics,  from  which  it  appears 
that  the  province  of  Mainas  is  divided  into  the  province  proper,  (of 
which  the  cap^al  is  Moyobamba,)  the  upper  and  lower  Missions,  and  the 
Conversions  of  the  Ucayali. 

The  upper  Mission  has  four  districts— Balza  Puerto,  Xeberos,  Laguna, 
and  Andoas;  containing  seventeen  villages,  and  nine  thousand  nine 
hundred  and  eleven  inhabitants.  The  lower  Mission  has  two  districts — 
Nauta  and  Loreto,  with  seventeen  villages,  and  three  thousand  seven 
hundred  and  eighty-nine  inhabitants.  The  Conversions  of  the  Ucayali 
are  confined  to  the  villages  of  Sarayacu,  Tierra  Blanca,  and  Sta.  Catalina, 
and  number  one  thousand  three  hundred  and  fifty  inhabitants,  mostly 
converts  of  the  Panos  tribe.  They  are  governed  by  priests  of  the  Col- 
lege of  Ocopa,  who  are  under  the  spiritual  direction  of  its  guardian; 
but  hold  their  temporal  authority  under  the  prefect  of  the  department. 
Arebalo  estimates  the  number  of  whites  in  the  Missions  and  Conver- 
sions— counting  men,  women,  and  children — at  four  hundred  and  seven. 

Both  Missions  are  under  the  authority  of  a  governor  general,  who 
holds  his  commission  from  the  sub-prefect  of  the  province.  Each  dis- 
trict has  its  governor,  and  each  town  its  lieutenant  governor.  The 
other  authorities  of  a  town  are  curacas,  captains,  lieutenants,  adjutants, 
ensigns,  sergeants,  alcaldes,  and  constables.  (All  these  are  Indians.)  The 
oflSce  of  curaca  is  hereditary.  The  right  of  succession  is  sometimes 
interfered  with  by  the  white  governor ;  but  this  always  gives  dissatis- 
fjiction,  and  is  occasionally  (added  toother  grievances)  the  cause  of 
rebellion  and  riot.  The  savages  treat  their  curaca  with  great  respect, 
and  submit  to  corporal  punishment  at  his  mandate. 

I  know  of  no  legal  establishment  in  the  Missions — the  law  proceeding 
out  of  the  mouths  of  the  governors.  Indians  are  punished  by  flogging 
or  confinement  in  the  stocks ;  whites  are  sometimes  imprisoned  ;  but  if 
their  ofience  is  of  a  grave  nature,  they  are  sent  to  be  tried  and  judged 
by  the  courts  of  the  capital. 

Arebalo  estimates  the  value  of  the  commerce  of  the  Missions  with 
Brazil  at  twenty  thousand  dollars  annually ;  and  that  with  the  Pacific 
coast,  through  Chachapoyas  and  Truxillo,  at  twenty  thousand  more. 
The  vegetable  productions  of  the  Missions  do  not  equal  the  value  of  the 
imports ;  but  the  people  get  some  money  from  the  coast  for  their  manu- 
factures of  coarse  cotton  and  straw-hats ;  and  a  little  gold  is  occasion- 
ally obtained  from  the  sands  of  the  Napo  and  Pastaza. 


182  COMMERCE. 

The  Missions  send  to  Chachapoyas  and  Truxillo  tobacco,  salt  fish, 
straw-hats,  coarse  cotton  cloths,  wax,  incense  for  the  churches,  balsam 
copaiba,  and  vanilla,  and  receive,  in  return,  cattle,  horses,  g«jods  of 
Europe,  and  a  little  money.  The  Brazilians  bring  up  heavy  articles — 
such  as  I  described  as  composing  the  cargo  of  the  traders  we  met  at 
Laguna ;  and  take  back  straw-lmts,  hammocks  of  the  Indians,  sarsapa- 
rilhi,  and  money.  The  value  of  the  sarsaparilla  of  the  Missions  is  esti- 
mated at  two  thousand  dollars  at  the  place  of  production,  and  six  thou- 
sand at  its  place  of  sale  in  Brazil ;  the  value  of  the  wax  at  the  same  at 
the  place  of  production  ;  and  at  four  thousand  dollars  at  place  of  sale. 
The  greatest  profit,  however,  is  made  on  the  fish,  of  which  thirty  thou- 
sand pieces  are  taken  annually  in  the  Ucayali  and  Amazon.  It  costs 
there  about  three  cents  the  piece ;  and  is  worth  in  Tarapoto,  Lamas, 
and  other  places  of  the  province,  about  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the 
piece.  • 

Estimate  of  the  expenses  and  returns  of  a  canoe-load  of  salt-Jish  from 
Nauta  to  Balza  Puerto. 

Dn.  A  canoe-load  of  eight  hundred  pieces  may  be  bought  in 
Nauta  for  one  yard  of  English  cotton  cloth  (valued  at 
twenty-five  ceut.s)  for  every  eight  pieces     -         -         -  $25  00 

Freight,  or  hire  of  canoe,  for  thirty-six  days,  from  Nauta 

to  Balza  Puerto,  at  3^  cents  per  day         -         -         -       112^ 

Pay  of  seven  peons,  12  yards  of  cotton  cloth  of  Tara- 
poto, valued  at  12^  cents  the  yard    -         -         -         -     10  50 

Maintenance  of  the  sev<  n  nn-n  fi>r  thirty-six  days,  at  .T 

cents  per  day T  56 


44  \^ 
Cr.  Eight  hundred  pieces  in  Balza  Puerto,  at  12^  cents  -         -  100  00 


Profit 65  81^ 

or  aljout  one  hundred  and  twenty-six  per  cent,  in  thirty-fix  days. 

The  return-cargo  also  yields  a  profit:  so  that  my  friend,  the  governor, 
who  by  virtue  of  his  ofllec  can  get  as  many  men  to  t^ike  fi-*h  for  him 
MA  ho  wimtj*,  will  probably  return  to  civilized  parts  in  a  few  years  with 
a  snug  little  sum  in  his  pocket.  Old  Cauper  is  rich,  and  the  priest 
in  couifurtublu  circumstances. 


COMMERCE. 


183 


Estimate  of  expenses  and  returns  of  an  expedition  from  Nauta  to  the 
Ucayalifor  the  collection  of  sarsaparilla.     {The  expedition  will  oc- 
cupy four  months  of  time.) 
Dr.  Hire  of  two  garreteas,  that  will  carry  seventy-five  arrobas 

each,  at  3^  cents  per  day,  (four  months)      -         -         -     $7  50 
Eighteen  .peons  from  Nauta  to  Sarayacu,  at  ten  yards  of 

English  cotton  cloth  each,  (twenty-five  cents)      -         -     45  00 
Support  of  these  peons  for  twenty  days,  at  3^  cents  per 

man  per  day   -         -         -         -         -         "         '         -11  25 
Contract  with  fifty  Pirros  or  Conibos  Indians  (who  now 
take  the  boats  and  go  up  the  tributaries  of  the  Ucayali) 
for  the  delivery  by  each  man  of  three  arrobas  of  sarsa- 
parilla, at  75  cents  the  arroba 112  50 

Hire  and  support  of  peons  for  the  return  from  Sarayacu 
to  Nauta — ^being  one-third  of  the  amount  for  the  trip 

up 2121 

195  00 
(S.  One  hundred  and  fifty  arrobas,  worth  in  Nauta  two  dollars 

the  arroba 300^0 

Profit  in  four  months 105  00 

or  about  thirteen  and  a  half  per  cent,  per  month. 

The  people  engaged  in  this  occupation  make,  however,  more  profit, 
by  cheating  the  Indians  in  every  possible  mode.  They  also  own  the 
garreteas ;  and,  by  management,  support  their  peons  for  less  than  three 
cents  per  day. 

This  is  an  estimate  made  up  from  information  given  by  Ajebalo. 
Hacket  makes  a  much  better  business  of  it.  He  says,  "Eighty  working 
hours  above  Sarayacu,  on  the  Ucayali,  is  the  mouth  of- the  river 
Aguaytia,  on  the  banks  of  which  grows  sarsaparilla  in  sufficient  quantity 
not  only  to  enrich  the  province  of  Mainas,  but  all  the  department  of 
Amazonas.  Its  cost  is  eight  varas  of  tocuyo  the  hundred  pounds,  un- 
dertaking the  work  of  gathering  it  with  formality— that  is  to  say,  em- 
ploying one  hundred  persons  under  the  direction  of  a  man  of  talent,  and 
paying  them  a  monthly  salary  of  twenty-four  varas  of  tocuyo  each ; 
quadruple  the  price  that  is  generally  paid  in  Mainas. 

"It  sells  in  Nauta,  Peruate,  and  Loreto  for  nine  dollars  the  hundred 
pounds,  gold  or  silver  coin ;  in  Tabatiuga,  (frontier  of  Brazil,)  for  ten 
dollars  and  fifty  cents;  in  Park,  for  twenty-five  dollars ;  and  in  Europe, 
for  from  forty  to  sixty  dollars,  in  times  of  greatest  abundance." 


184  COMMERCE.  • 

Sarsaparilla  is  a  vine  of  sufficient  size  to  slioot  up  fifteen  or  twenty 
feet  from  the  root  without  support.  It  then  embraces  the  surrounding 
trees,  and  spreads  to  a  great  distance.  The  main  root  sends  out  many 
tendrils,  generally  about  two  lines  in  diameter,  and  five  feet  long. 
These  are  gathered  and  tied  up  in  large  bundles  of  about  a  Portuguese 
arroba,  or  thirty-two  pounds  of  weight.  The  main  root,  or  madre, 
should  not  be  disturbed  ;  but  the  Indians  are  little  careful  in  this  matter, 
and  frequently  cut  it  off,  by  which  much  sarsaparilla  is  destroyed. 
The  digging  up  of  the  smail  roots  out  of  the  wet  and  marshy  soil  is  a 
laborious  and  unheaUhy  occupation. 

It  is  to  be  found  on  the  banks  of  almost  every  tributary  of  the  great 
streams  of  the  Montana ;  but  a  great  many  of  these  are  not  worked,  on 
account  of  the  savages  living  on  their  banks,  who  frequently  attack  the 
parties  that  come  to  gather  it.  On  the  "Ponyoa"  are  the  Campas;  on 
the  "Pachitea,"  the  "  Aguaytia,"  and  the  "  Pisque,"  are  the  "  Cashibos ;" 
and  the  whole  southern  border  of  the  Amazon,  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali  to  that  of  the  Yavari,  is  inhabited  by  the  "Mayorunas;"  all 
savages,  and  averse  to  intercourse  with  the  white  man.  The  same  is 
the  case  on  the  "Tigreyacu,"  where  there  is  said  to  be  much  sarsapa- 
rilla. Padre  Calvo,  the  president  of  the  Missions  at  Sarayacu,  told  me 
that,  although  he  has  the  exclusive  right,  by  order  of  the  prefect,  of 
collecting  all  the  sarsaparilla  on  the  Ucayali  and  its  tributaries,  he  could 
not,  if  I  were  willing  to  pay  any  price,  supply  me  with  more  than 
three  hundred  arrobas  per  annum,  on  account  of  the  difficulty  of  getting 
laborers  who  are  willing  to  brave  the  attacks  of  the  savages. 

I  have  estimated  the  annual  cost  of  running  a  small  steamer  be- 
tween Loreto,  the  frontier  port  of  Peru  and  Chasuta,  a  distance  of  eight 
hundred  miles,  entirely  within  the  Peruvian  territory,  at  twenty  thousand 
dollars,  including  the  establishment  of  blacksmiths'  and  carpenters'  shops 
at  Nauta  for  her  repairs.  According  to  the  estimate  of  Arebalo,  (and  I 
judge  that  he  is  very  nearly  correct,)  the  value  of  the  imports  and  ex- 
ports to  and  from  Brazil  is  twenty  thousand  dollars  annually.  I  have  no 
doubt  that  the  appearance  of  a  steamer  in  these  waters  would  at  once 
double  the  value  ;  for  it  would,  in  the  first  place,  convert  the  thousand 
men  who  are  now  employed  in  the  fetching  and  carrying  of  the  articles 
of  trade  into  producers,  and  would  give  a  great  impulse  to  trade  by 
facilitating  it.  A  loaded  canoe  lakes  eighty  days  to  ascend  these  eight 
hundred  miles.  A  steamer  will  do  it  in  twelve,  giving  ample  time  to 
take  in  wood,  to  land  and  receive  cargo  at  the  various  villages  on  the 
river,  and  to  lay  by  at  night.  When  the  river  bocomes  better  known 
she  can  run  for  a  large  part  of  the  night,  and  thus  shorten  her  time 


COMMERCE.  185 

nearly  one-half.     Men  shrink  at  the  eighty  days  in  a  canoe,  when  they 
•will  jump  at  the  twelve  in  a  steamer. 

The  steamer  will  also  increase  commerce  and  trade  by  creating 
artificial  wants ;  men  will  travel  who  did  not  travel  before ;  articles  of 
luxury — such  as  Yankee  clocks,  cheap  musical  instruments,  &c. — will  be 
introduced,  and  the  Indians  will  work  to  obtain  them ;  and,  in  short, 
w^hen  the  wonders  that  the  steamboat  and  railroad  have  accomplished 
are  taken  into  consideration,  I  shall  not  be  thought  rash  in  predicting 
that  in  one  year  from  the  time  of  the  appearance  of  the  steamer, 
Arebalo's  twenty  thousand  dollars  will  be  made  forty  thousand. 

Thus  we  shall  have  twenty  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods  going 
up  from  Loreto  to  Chasuta,  paying  at  least  one  hundred  per  cent.;  and 
twenty  thousand  dollars  going  down,  paying  another  hundred  per  cent.; 
giving  to  the  steamboat  company  (who  would  monopolize  the  trade) 
forty  thousand  dollars  a  year,  against  twenty  thousand  dollars  of 
expenses. 

There  would  be  no  diflBculty  in  getting  a  supply  of  fuel.  My 
Peruvian  steamer  would  have  to  make  her  way  slowly  up,  for  the  first 
time,  by  collecting  and  cutting  up  the  abundant  driftwood  on  the 
islands ;  but  she  could  readily  contract  with  the  governors  of  the  thirty- 
six  villages  between  Para  and  Chasuta  for  a  regular  supply.  The 
Brazilian  government  has  an  organized  and  enlisted  corps  of  laborers, 
under  the  orders  of  the  military  commandants,  and  I  should  suppose 
would  be  willing  to  employ  them  in  furnishing  wood,  on  account  of  the 
great  advantages  to  be  derived  from  the  increase  of  trade.  The  Indians 
of  the  Peruvian  villages  are  entirely  obedient  to  their  governors ;  and 
a  sufficient  number  of  them  may  always  be  had,  at  wages  of  twelve 
and  a  half  cents  per  day,  with  about  three  cents  more  for  their  main- 
tenance. This  amount  of  wages  may  be  reduced  one-half  by  payino- 
them  in  articles  for  their  consumption,  bought  at  Para  or  brought  from 
the  United  States. 

The  only  difficulty  that  I  have  in  my  calculations  is  that  I  know 
there  are  not  forty  thous^and  dollars  in  the  whole  province  ;  its  produc- 
tions must  find  their  way  to  the  Pacific,  on  the  one  hand,  and  to  the 
Atlantic,  on  the  other,  bef^gre  they  can  be  converted  into  money.  My 
steamer,  therefore,  to  be  enabled  to  buy  and  sell,  must  communicate 
at  Loreto  with  a  larger  steamer,  plying  between  that  place  and  Barra, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Ptio  Negro,  a  distance  of  eight  hundred  and  forty 
miles ;  and  this  with  another  still  larger,  between  Barra  and  Para,  a 
distance  of  a  thousand  miles. 

These  three  steamers  (however  much  I  may  be  out  of  my  calculations 


186  COMMERCE. 

regarding  the  one  confined  to  the  Peruvian  territory  (could  not  fail  to 
eprich  their  owners ;  for  they  would  entirely  monopolize  the  trade  of 
the  river,  which  is  fairly  measured  by  the  imports  and  exports  of  Para, 
which  amounted  in  1851  to  two  millions  of  dollars. 

These  two  millions  are  now  brought  down  to  Para,  and  carried  away 
from  Para,  (with  the  exception  of  what  is  consumed  in  the  city,)  by 
clumsy,  inefficient  river-craft,  which  would  vanish  from  the  main  stream 
at  the  first  triumphant  whistle  of  the  engine.  These  would,  however, 
until  the  profits  justified  the  putting  on  of  more  steamers,  find  ample 
employment  in  bringing  down  and  depositing  upon  the  banks  of  the 
main  stream  the  productions  of  the  great  tributaries. 

I  can  imagine  the  waking-up  of  the  people  on  the  event  of  the  estab- 
lishment of  steamboat  navigation  on  the  Amazon.  I  fancy  I  can  hear 
the  crash  of  the  forest  falling  to  make  room  for  the  cultivation  of  cotton, 
cocoa,  rice,  and  sugar,  and  the  sharp  sliriek  of  the  saw,  cutting  into 
boards  the  beautiful  and  valuable  woods  of  the  country ;  that  I  can  see 
the  gatherers  of  India-rubber  and  copaiba  redoubling  their  efforts,  to  be 
enabled  to  purchase  the  new  and  convenient  things  that  shall  be  pre- 
sented at  the  door  of  their  huts  in  the  wilderness ;  and  even  the  Avild 
Indian  finding  the  way  from  his  pathless  forest  to  the  steamboat  depot 
to  exchange  his  collections  of  vanilla,  spices,  dyes,  drugs,  and  gums,  for 
the  things  that  would  take  his  fancy — ribbons,  beads,  bells,  mirrors,  and 
gay  trinkets. 

Brazil  and  Peru  have  entered  into  arrangements,  and  bound  them- 
selves by  treaty,  to  appropriate  money  towards  the  establishment  of 
steamboat  navigation  on  the  Amazon.  This  is  well.  It  is  doing  some- 
thing towards  progress ;  but  it  is  the  progress  of  a  denizen  of  their  own 
forests — the  sloth.  Were  they  to  follow  the  example  lately  set  by  the 
republics  of  the  La  Plata,  and  throw  open  their  rivers  to  the  commerc43 
of  the  world,  then  the  march  of  improvement  would  be  commensurate 
with  the  importance  of  the  act;  and  these  countries  would  grow  in 
riches  and  power  with  the  rapidity  of  the  vegetation  of  their  own  most 
fertile  lands. 

We,  more  than  any  other  people,  are  interested  in  the  opening  of  this 
navigation.  As  has  been  before  stated,  the  trade  of  this  region  must 
pass  by  our  doors,  and  mingle  and  exchange  with  the  products  of  our 
Mississippi  valley.  I  am  permitted  to  take  extracts  Iniaring  upon  this 
subject  from  a  letter  of  an  eminent  American  citizen  residing  in  Lima 
to  the  Superintendent  of  the  National  Obsen'atory,  whose  papers  upon 
the  Amazon,  its  resources  and  future  importance,  have  attracted  the 
attention,  not  only  of  our  own  people,  but  that  of  those  who  dwell  or 


NAVIGATION.  187 

have  territonal  possessions  upon  this  great  water-shed ;  and  to  whom 
belongs  the  honor  of  originating  the  mission  upon  which  I  have  been 
engaged. 

This  gentleman  in  Lima,  whose  comprehensive  mind  and  ripe  judg- 
ment had  been  attracted  to  the  subject  by  Maury's  pen,  says  to  the 
Lieutenant,  under  date  of  July,  1852  : 

"Since  I  last  wrote  to  you,  I  have  made  the  acquaintance  of  Don 

,  a  native  of  Chili,  and  whom  Gibbon  saw  at  Cochabamba,  in 

Bolivia.  This  is  undoubtedly  a  clever  man  ;  but  I  suspect  that  he  has 
also  come  to  act  as  a  secret  agent  of  Belzu,  the  President  of  Bolivia. 
However  that  may  be,  he  pretends  that  Belzu  is  favorably  disposed 
towards  us,  and  would  grant  privileges  to  a  steam  navigation  company, 
were  application  made  to  him  in  due  form.  As  I  know  of  no  other 
individual  in  Bolivia  with  whom  I  could  communicate  on  the  subject 
of  Amazonian  navigation,  I  did  not  hesitate  to  make  use  of  him ;  for, 
in  my  opinion,  there  is  no  time  to  be  lost  if  the  United  States  intend 
to  secure  the  interior  trade  of  South  America  for  its  citizens. 

"  Don declares  that  the  Mamore  is  navigable  for  steamers  from 

a  point  near  Cochabamba  to  its  confluence  with  the  Guapore  or  Itenez, 
and  so  onward  to  the  junction  of  the  latter  with  the  Beni,  forming 
together  the  Rio  Madeira ;  that  the  '  Cachuelas,'  or  falls  of  the  Madeira, 
are  neither  impassable  nor  formidable,  and  may  be  easily  ascended  by 
steamers,  as  there  is  plenty  of  water  and  no  rocks.  To  prove  this,  he 
asserts  that  a  Brazilian  schooner  ascended  the  Mamore  to  Trinidad,  and 
fired  a  salute  at  that  place,  about  two  years  ago.  After  passing  the 
falls,  the  river  is,  of  course,  navigable  to  the  Amazon.     Admitting  this 

statement  of  Don to  be  true,  (and  I  am  inclined  to  believe  it, 

as  the  Brazilians  constantly  ascend  the  Itenez  to  Matto  Grosso,)  there 
is  open  navigation  from  Par&  to  within  a  few  leagues  of  Cochabamba, 
at  least  two  thousand  miles ;  and  this  is  not  so  incredible  when  we  con- 
sider the  length  of  navigation  on  the  Missouri  river.  The  accessibility 
of  the  Bolivian  rivers  will,  however,  be  ascertained  with  greater  certainty 
after  Gibbon  has  passed  through  the  Cachuelas  of  the  Madeira,  as  it  is 
to  be  hoped  that  he  will  sound,  and  otherwise  minutely  examine,  the 

different  rapids  of  that  river,  and  correct  the  errors  which  Don 

says  are  in  the  chart  made  by ,  a  copy  of  which  I  sent  you  by ' 

Mr.  O'Brian  for  Herndon. 

"The  account  Don  gives  of  the  products  of  the  country 

lying  on  the  banks  of  the  Mamoro  is  very  glowing.  He  says  that  the 
richest  cocoa  and  coffee  grow  almost  wild,  and  that  the  greatest  part  of 
the  former  is  consumed  by  the  monkeys  and  birds,  for  the  want  of  means 


1S8  PRODUCTIONS. 

of  transporting  it  to  a  market.  Sugar-cane  of  gigantic  dimensions  is 
found  everywhere,  with  white  and  yellow  cotton  of  a  staple  equal  to  Sea 
island.  Several  kinds  of  cascarilla  grow  in  abundance,  as  also  sarsapa- 
rilla  and  gums,  ornamental  and  other  woods,  and  honey  and  wax,  in 
immense  quantities.  Crossing  the  Mamore  from  Exaltacion  to  the 
southwest,  you  arrive  at  the  river  Machuno,  which,  according  to  Don 
,  is  a  small  'Pactolus;'  and  he  assures  me  that  the  whole  coun- 
try between  the  Mamore  and  the  Itenez,  from  latitude  14°  to  the  north, 
is  a  gold  disti'ict  as  rich  as  California. 

'■'■My  opinion  decidedly  is,  that  the  whole  country  traversed  by  the 
rivers  issuing  from  the  slope  of  the  Eastern  Cordillera,  from  Santa  Cruz 
de  la  Sierra,  in  Bolivia,  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali,  in  Peru,  is  one 
immense  gold  and  silver  region;  gold  being  found  in  the  flats  near  the 
rivers,  and  silver  in  the  mountains.  I  will  venture  to  predict  that  the 
same  region  contains  diamonds  and  other  precious  stones,  some  of  which 
are  probably  unknown  to  the  lapidary  at  present.  The  silver  mines  of 
Carabaya  were  immensely  productive  when  worked  by  Salcedo ;  so 
much  so,  that  the  vice-regal  government  trumped  up  an  accusation 
against  him,  tried  him,  and  ordered  his  execution,  to  obtain  possession 
of  the  mines  by  confiscation.  The  attempt  failed,  as  the  Indians,  who 
were  devoted  to  Salcedo,  refused  to  give  any  information  to  the  govern- 
ment respecting  the  mines ;  and  they  have  remained  unworked  up  to 
the  present  time. 

"Gold  is  known  to  exist  in  considerable  quantities  at  Carabaya,  and  in 

the  Pampa  del  Sacramento.     I  have  seen  specimens  from  the  former 

place  ;  but  gold  is  the  least  attraction  for  emigration  to  Bolivia ;  the  soil 

and  its  products  are  the  source  from  which  the  wanderers  from  foreign 

lands  are  to  find  plenty  and  happiness.     The  climate  is  said  to  be  good, 

and  the  Indians,  except  upon  the  lower  j^art  of  the  Beni,  peaceable  and 

well  disposed  to  the  whites.     In  short,  according  to  Don ,  the 

east  of  Bolivia  affords  the  greatest  sphere  for  trade  and  colonization. 
*  *  -*  **  ***** 

"For  myself,  I  feel  full  of  this  vast  subject;  for  I  know  that  within 
less  than  one  hundred  leagues  of  me  is  the  margin  of  those  great  soli- 
tudes :  replete  with  riches,  and  occupying  the  wild  space  where  millions 
«  of  the  human  race  might  dwell  in  plenty  and  happiness;  where  nature 
annually  wastes  more  than  would  support  the  population  of  China  in 
comfort;  and  where  the  most  luxurious  fruits  and  fairest  flowers  grow  and 
bloom  unknown  and  unnoticed.  When  I  reflect  on  this,  and  on  the 
miles  of  rivers  rolling  on  in  silence  and  neglect,  I  feel  doubly  the  want 


FREE    NAVIGATIOX.  189 

of  power  aud  mpney  to  accomplish  their  introduction  to  the  civilized 

xrnrlrl 


world. 


* 


"  I  think  that  the  energies  and  influence  of  all  the  friends  of  South 
American  internal  navigation  and  colonization  should  be  directed 
towards  forming  a  company,  with  a  large  capital,  and  to  obtain  the  aid 
and  support  of  the  Congress  of  the  United  States.  I  know  how  difficult 
an  undertaking  it  is  to  wring  an  appropriation  out  of  our  national 
legislature,  for  any  purpose ;  but  if  the  subject  could  be  fairly  brought 
before  it,  and  some  of  the  leading  senators  and  representatives  could  be 
excited  to  take  a  patriotic  interest  in  it,  perhaps  something  might  be 
done. 

"  We  must,  on  our  side,  do  all  we  can,  and  by  dint  of  perseverance 
we  may  succeed  at  last  in  accomplishing  our  object.  Should  we  do  so, 
it  will  be  a  proud  satisfaction  to  ourselves  ;  though  the  public  may,  and 
probably  will,  leave  us  to  exclaim — 

"  '  Ho8  ego  versiculos  feci,  tulit  alter  honoree !' 

"  I  shall  continue  working  on  and  writing  to  you  whenever  I  have 
anything  of  the  least  interest  to  communicate." 

The  greatest  boon  in  the  wide  world  of  commerce  is  in  the  free  navi- 
gation of  the  Amazon,  its  confluents  and  neighboring  streams.  The 
back-bone  of  South  America  is  in  sight  of  the  Pacific.  The  slof»es  of 
the  continent  look  east ;  they  are  drained  into  the  Atlantic,  and  their 
rich  productions,  in  vast  variety  and  profusion,  may  be  emptied  into 
the  commercial  lap  of  that  ocean  by  the  most  majestic  of  water-courses. 

The  time  will  come  when  the  free  navigation  of  the  Amazon  and 
other  South  American  rivers  will  be  regarded  by  tlie  people  of  this 
country  as  second  only  in  importance  to  the  acquisition  of  Louisiana. 

Having  traversed  that  water-shed  from  its  highest  ridge  to  its  very 
caves  and  gutters,  I  find  my  thoughts  and  reflections  overwhelmed  with 
the  immensity  of  this  field  for  enterprise,  commercial  prosperity,  and 
human  happiness. 

I  can  bear  witness  to  the  truth  of  the  sentiment  expressed  by  my 
friend,  Mr.  Maury,  that  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon  and  the  Valley  of  the 
Mississippi  are  commercial  complements  of  each  other — one  supplying 
what  the  other  lacks  in  the  great  commercial  round.  They  are  sisters 
which  should  not  be  separated.  Had  I  the  honor  to  be  mustered  among 
the  statesmen  of  my  country,  I  would  risk  political  fame  and  life  in  the 
attempt  to  have  the  commerce  of  this  noble  river  thrown  open  to  the 
world. 


190  NAUTA. 


CHAPTER  X. 

Nauta — River  Ucayali — Sarayacu — The  Missionaries — The  Indians  of  the  Ucayali. 

Seiior  Cauper  lias  four  or  five  slaves  in  his  bouse — blacks,  which  he 
brought  from  Brazil.  This  is  contrary  to  the  law,  but  it  is  winked  at ; 
and  I  heard  the  governor  say  that  he  would  like  much  to  have  a  pair. 
Mr.  Cauper  said  they  would  be  difficult  to  get,  and  would  cost  him  five 
hundred  dollars  iu  money.  A  slave  that  is  a  mechanic  is  worth  five 
hundred  dollars  in  Brazil. 

Arebalo  gave  us  specimens  of  the  woods  of  the  country ;  they  are 
called  affuano,  ishpinc/o,  muena,  cupirono,  cedro,  palo  de  cruz,  (our  lig- 
num-vitje,)  and  palo  de  sangre — all  good,  whether  for  house  or  ship- 
building ;  and  some  of  them  very  hard,  heavy,  and  beautiful.  The  palo 
de  sangre  is  of  a  rich  red  color,  susceptible  of  a  high  polish  ;  and  a 
decoction  of  its  bark  is  said  to  be  good  to  stay  bloody  evacuations.  I 
had  no  opportunity  of  testing  it,  but  suspect  it  is  given  on  the  homceo- 
pathic  principle,  that  "  like  cures  like,"  because  it  is  red.  I  thought  the 
same  of  the  guaco,  in  the  case  of  the  snake-bite. 

The  temperature  of  Nauta  is  agreeable.  The  lowest  thermometer  I 
observed  was  71°  at  6  a.  m.,  and  tlie  highest  89°  at  3  p.  m.  We  have 
had  a  great  deal  of  cloudy  weather  and  rain  since  we  have  been  on  the 
Amazon ;  and  it  is  now  near  the  commencement  of  the  rainy  sejison  at 
this  place.  No  one  sutlers  from  heat,  though  this  is  probably  the  hot- 
test sea«on  of  the  year;  the  air  is  loaded  with  moisture;  and  heavy 
8(jualls  of  wind  and  rain  sweep  over  the  country  almost  every  day.  In 
the  dry  months — from  the  last  Of  February  to  the  first  of  September — a 
constant  and  heavy  breeze  blows,  nearly  all  day,  against  the  stream  of 
the  river ;  the  wind,  at  all  seasons,  is  generally  easterly,  but  is  at  this 
time  more  fitful  and  liable  to  interruption  ;  so  that  sail-boat-s  bound  up 
make,  at  this  season,  the  longest  passages.  The  river,  which  is  three- 
fourths  of  a  mile  wide  opposite  Nauta,  and  has  an  imposing  appear- 
ance, has  risen  four  feet  between  the  sixteenth  and  twenty-fifih  of  Sep- 
ttniber. 

The  town  is  situated  on  a  hill,  with  the  forest  well  cleared  away  from 
around  it,  and  is  a  liealthy  place.  I  saw  only  two  cases  of  sickness 
during  my  stay  of  two  weeks.  They  were  acute  cases  of  disease,  to 
which  people  are  liable  everywhere.     Both  patients  died  ;  probably  for 


THE    GARRETEA.  191 

■want  of  medical  attention.  I  gave  the  man  who  had  the  dysentery 
some  doses  of  calomel  and  opium,  (a  prescription  I  had  from  Dr.  Smith, 
of  Lima ;)  but  he  died  with  the  last  dose.  Though  solicited,  I  would 
have  nothing  to  do  with  the  other  case.  It  was  a  woman  ;  and  I  had 
no  confidence  in  my  practice.  I  could  only  add  my  mite  to  a  subscrip- 
tion raised  by  the  whites  for  the  benefit  of  her  orphan  children. 

The  Cocamas  of  Nauta  are  great  fishermen  and  boatmen,  and  I 
think  are  bolder  than  most  ef  the  civilized  tribes  on  the  river.  They 
make  incursions,  now  and  then,  into  the  country  of  the  Mayorunas — 
savages  who  inhabit  the  right  banks  of  the  Ucayali  and  Amazon — fight 
battles  with  them,  and  bring  home  prisoners,  generally  children.  "When 
travelling  in  small  numbers,  or  engaged  in  their  ordinary  avocations  on 
the  river,  they  studiously  avoid  the  country  of  their  enemies,  who 
retaliate  whenever  opportunity  ofiers. 

These  Indians  are  jealous,  and  punish  conjugal  infidelity  with  sever- 
ity, and  also  departure  from  the  laws  of  chastity  on  the  part  of  the 
unmarried  female. 

Arebalo  thinks  that  the  population  of  the  Missions  is  increasing,  and 
found  by  the  census,  taken  carefully  last  year  by  himself,  that  the  num- 
ber of  women  exceeded  that  of  the  men  by  more  than  one  thousand. 

A  boat  came  in  from  above  on  the  eighteenth,  and  reported  the  loss 
of  another  belonging  to  Enrique,  one  of  the  traders  we  had  met  at 
Laguna.  She  was  loaded  with  salt  and  cotton  cloth  ;  and,  in  passing 
the  mouth  of  Tigre  Yacu  in  the  night,  struck  upon  a  "  sawyer,"  cap- 
sized, and  went  down.  A  boy  was  drowned.  Macready  would  have 
envied  the  low,  soft,  sad  tones  and  eloquent  gestures,  expressive  of  pity 
and  horror,  with  which  an  Indian  told  us  the  disastrous  story. 

September  20. — We  paid  twelve  rowers  and  a  popero,  and  set  them 
to  work  to  fit  up  our  boat  with  decks  and  coverings.  I  had  purchased 
this  boat  from  Mr.  Cauper  for  sixty  dollars,  the  price  he  paid  for  it 
when  it  was  new.  Most  persons  on  the  river  held  up  their  hands  when 
I  told  them  what  I  had  paid  for  it ;  but  I  thought  it  was  cheap,  espe- 
cially as  I  was  obliged  to  have  it  on  any  terms.  He  had  it  repaired 
and  calked  for  us. 

The  boat  (called  garretea)  is  thirty  feet  long,  seven  wide  in  its  widest 
part,  and  three  deep.  The  after-part  is  decked  for  about  ten  feet  in 
length  with  the  bark  of  a  palm-tree,  which  is  stripped  from  the  trunk 
and  flattened  out  by  force.  The  deck  is  covered  over  by  small  poles, 
bent  in  hoop-fashion  over  it,  and  well  thatched  with  palm-leaves ; 
making  quite  a  snug  little  cabin.  The  pilot  stands  or  sits  on  this  roof 
to  direct  and  steer,  and  sleeps  upon  it  at  night,  to  the  manifest  danger 


192  THE    UCAYALI. 

of  rolling  off.  About  twelve  feet  of  the  middle  of  the  boat  is  coveTed 
and  decked  in  like  manner;  but  the  covering  is  lower  and  narrower, 
giving  room  for  the  rowers  to  sit  on  each  side  of  it  to  paddle.  Most  of 
the  cargo  is  stowed  under  the  decks,  thus  leaving  a  cabin  for  both 
Ijurra  and  myself.  There  is  a  space  between  the  two  coverings  which 
is  not  decked  over,  that  gives  a  chance  for  bailing  the  boat  when  she 
takes  in  water ;  and  a  sufficient  space  is  left  in  the  bow  on  which  to 
place  a  large  earthen  vessel  to  make  a  fire  in. 

I  bought  from  Seuhor  Cauper  some  Portuguese  axes,  some  small  fish- 
hooks, (called  by  the  Indians  mishqui,)  and  some  white  beads,  which 
are  most  coveted  by  the  savages  of  the  Ucayali. 

We  had  several  fishing  pic-nics  with  the  priest  and  governor,  and 
altogether  a  pleasant  time  at  Nauta. 

September  25. — Having  engaged  a  servant,  a  Tarapotino,  named 
Lopez,  and  embarked  our  luggage  and  provisions,  I  hoisted  a  small 
American  flag,  given  me  from  the  frigate  Raritan,  and  got  under  way  for 
the  Ucayali.  We  started  with  ten  peons,  but  were  joined  by  two  others 
in  a  skift'  (called  montaria)  next  morning.  In  fifty-five  minutes  we  ar- 
rived at  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali.  It  is  a  beautiful  stream,  with  low, 
shelving,  green  banks  at  its  mouth.  But  I  was  disappointed  in  its  size  ; 
it  was  not  more  than  half  as  wide  as  the  Amazon.  It  is  the  longest 
known  tributary  above  Brazil,  and  is  therefore  called  by  some  the  main 
trunk  of  the  Amazon.  We  poled  and  paddled  slowly  up  the  left  bank 
for  four  and  a  half  miles,  and  stopped  at  a  bluff  where  there  were  one  or 
two  huts  of  Nauta  people.  Threatening  rain,  we  attempted  to  sleep  in 
the  boat ;  but  our  musquito  curtains  not  being  properly  prepared,  we 
passed  a  wretched  night. 

September  26. — Taking  advantage  of  the  eddies  and  still  water  near 
the  shore,  we  paddled  and  poled  along  at  about  the  rate  of  a  mile  and  a 
half  per  hour.  Our  men  work  well.  They  commence  paddling  with 
a  strong,  slow  stroke,  of  about  fifteen  or  twenty  to  the  minute,  and 
gradually  quicken  them  till  they  get  to  be  half-second  strokes.  They 
keep  this  up  for  about  half  aji  hour,  when,  at  a  shout  from  the  bowman, 
they  toss  their  paddles  in  the  air,  change  sides,  and.  commence  the  slow 
stroke  again.  They,  however,  prefer  poling  to  paddling,  and  will 
always  make  for  a  beach,  where  they  can  use  their  poles,  which  they 
do  in  a  lazy,  inefficient  manner. 

The  shores  of  the  river  today,  on  the  left  bank,  are  abrupt,  and 
about  ten  or  fifteen  feet  high.  They  are  of  a  light,  loose  earth,  that  is 
continually  caving  in  by  the  action  of  the  current,  and  carrying  trees 
into  the  stream.     On  the  other  side  the  shores  are  low,  green,  and 


.»  / 


Tl.« 


"K, 


>.^t^^  .,    '  i"^^ 


PtVemazzi  del 


I  VARA 


THE    UCAYALI.  193 

shelvinor.  I  think  they  are  the  shores  of  low,  narrow  islands.  The 
trees  are  not  very  thick,  and  the  country  is  more  open  than  on  tlie  banks 
of  the  Huallaga.  After  breakfast  we  pulled  nearly  to  the  middle  of  the 
river,  and,  anchoring  in  thirty-three  feet  water,  we  found  the  current,  by 
the  log,  to  be  a  mile  and  three-quarters  the  hour.  We  passed  the  mouth 
of  a  small  stream  called  Chingana,  up  which  there  is  a  settlement  of  the 
Mayorunas.  Our  men  are  much  afraid  of  this  people,  and  always  sleep 
on  the  left  bank  so  long  as  they  are  in  their  country.  All  the  peons  on 
this  river  have  their  musquito  curtains  painted  black,  so  that  the  Mayo- 
runas may  not  see  them  in  the  night.  The  mode  of  attack  of  these 
savages  is  to  wait  till  the  travellers  have  fallen  asleep,  and  then  rush 
upon  the  musquito  nets  and  plunge  in  their  lances.  None  of  the 
Indians  th5t  I  have  travelled  with  seem  to  have  any  idea  of  the  pro- 
priety of  posting  a  sentinel.  At  noon  the  river,  which  has  been  from 
its  mouth  less  than  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  spreads  out,  and  is  divided 
by  islands.  We  anchored  in  twelve  feet  water,  sixty  yards  from  the 
shore,  and  slept  without  musquito  netting.  It  was  windy,  and  the8« 
troublesome  insects  did  not  come  off.     Rain  nearly  all  night. 

September  2Y. — Two  of  our  turtles  died  yesterday,  and  the  Indians  are 
eating  them  to-day.  Ijuvra  suspects  that  they  killed  them  by  putting 
tobacco  in  their  mouths,  knowing  that  we  would  not  eat  them,  and 
that  they  consequently  would  get  them.  But  Ijurra  is  of  a  suspicious 
nature,  especially  where  Indians  are  concerned,  whom  he  thinks  to  be 
the  vilest  and  most  worthless  of  mankind.  We  found  the  ciu-rent  to- 
day to  be  two  miles  the  hour.  A  fish  about  two  feet  long,  and  sharp- 
built,  like  a  dolphin,  jumped  into  the  boat.  It  had  two  curved  and 
very  sharp  teeth,  like  those  of  a  squirrel,  or  the  fangs  of  a  serpent,  in 
the  lower  jaw.  It  made  us  a  very  good  mess.  The  river  to-day  is 
much  divided  by  islands,  the  passages  from  one  hundred  to  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  wide.  When  running  between  the  main  shore,  the  river 
is  about  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide. 

September  28. — Passed  the  outlet  of  a  lake  said  to  be  a  day  distant. 
There  are  many  lakes  on  each  side  of  the  river,  where  the  Indians  fish 
with  barbasco.  At  this  season  most  of  the  outlets  are  dry.  Passed  two 
balsas  loaded  with  sarsaparilla,  gathered  in  the  river  Aguaytia,  above 
Sarayacu.  One  was  in  charge  of  a  Brazilian  negro,  the  other  of  a 
Portuguese  ;  they  were  dependants  of  a  trading  establishment  at  Loreto. 
The  crew  were  Conibos  Indians  of  the  Ucayali.  They  had  a  floating 
turtle-pen  along,  and  gave  us  a  turtle.  When  we  stopped  to  breakfast 
our  people  hid  their  jars,  which  they  had  emptied  of  their  masata, 
to  pick  up  on  the  return.  Banks  of  the  river,  as  usual,  about  ten  or 
13 


194  THE    UCATALI. 

fifteen  feet  bigh.  Beaches  few  and  small,  running  out  in  ridges ;  so 
that  at  one  moment  our  men  could  not  touch  bottom  with  their  long 
poles,  and  at  the  next  the  boat  was  aground. 

September  29. — We  passed  a  place  in  the  river  where  there  was  a 
beach  on  each  side,  and  a  tree  grounded  in  the  middle.  On  the  side 
which  wo  passed,  which  was  to  the  right  of  the  tree,  we  had  but  four 
foet  water  sixty  yards  from  the  beach.  I  suspect  the  tree  was  grounded 
on  a  sand-flat  at  the  upper  end  of  an  island,  the  lower  end  of  which  we 
had  not  noticed,  and  that  the  channel  was  on  the  other  side,  and  close 
to  the  right  bank  of  the  river.  Passed  the  mouth  of  the  Cano  Pucati, 
which  communicates  with  the  Maraiion  just  below  San  Regis.  It  is 
now  entirely  dry,  and  appears  a  mere  fissure  in  the  bank  between  the 
cane  and  small  trees  growing  near  it.  The  sand  which  is  heaped  up  at 
its  entrance,  is  four  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the  river. 

Stopped  and  bought  some  turtle,  salt,  and  salted  curassoics^  (a  large, 
black,  game  bird,  nearly  the  size,  and  with  something  the  appearance, 
of  a  turkey,  called  piuri,)  from  some  San  Regis  people,  who  were  salt- 
ing fish,  which  they  had  taken  in  a  lake  near.  Their  ranchos  were 
built  upon  a  blufi"  on  the  right  bank.  I  could  not  stay  among  them 
for  the  musquitoes,  and  had  to  retreat  to  the  boat.  Two  large  turtles, 
three  salted  birds,  and  half  a  peck  of  salt,  cost  us  six  strings  of  small 
beads. 

September  30. — Passed  the  mouth  of  an  arm  of  the  river,  which  is 
said  to  leave  the  main  river  many  miles  above,  and  make  the  large 
island  of  Paynaco.  It  is  navigable  for  canoes  in  the  wet  season ;  but, 
on  account  of  its  windings,  it  takes  nearly  as  long  to  pass  it  as  it  does 
to  pass  the  main  river;  and  it  is  seldom  navigated.  We  see  many 
cranes  and  Imananas,  (the  Egyptian  goose  before  described,)  but  no 
animals  except  flesh  colored  porpoises,  of  which  there  are  a  great  many. 
Occasionally  we  liear  "  cotomonos,"  or  howling  monkeys,  in  the  woods. 
Dull  work  ascendin"  the  riveii:  anchored  near  low  sand  islands  with 
abrupt  banks,  which  were  continually  tumbling  into  the  stream. 

October  1. — After  daylight  we  landed  and  shot  at  cotomonos.  One 
is  nut  aware  of  the  great  height  of  the  trees  until  he  attempts  to  shoot 
a  monkey  or  a  bird  out  of  the  topmost  branches.  He  is  thou  surprised 
V)  find  that  the  object  is  entirely  out  of  reach  of  his  fowling-piece,  and 
tliat  only  a  rillo  will  reach  it.  The  trees  throughout  this  country 
grow  with  groat  rapidity,  and,  being  in  a  light,  thin  soil,  with  a  ^ub- 
etratum  of  sand,  the  roots  are  superfit-ial,  and  the  trees  are  continually 
falling  down.  Nature  seems  to  have  made  a  provision  for  their  sup- 
port, for,  instead  of  coming  down  round  to  the  ground,  the  trunk,  about 


THE    UCAYALI.  195 

ten  feet  above  it,  divides  into  thick,  wide  tablets,  which,  widening  as 
they  come  down,  stand  out  like  buttresses  for  the  support  of  the  tree ; 
but  even  with  this  provision  no  day  passes  that  we  do  not  hear  the 
crashing  fall  of  some  giant  of  the  forest.  Re-stowed  the  boat,  and 
repaired  Ijurra's  palace,  making  it  narrower  and  higher. 

October  3. — Many  huananas,  with  their  broods,  upon  the  river.  Shot 
a  large  brown  bird  called  ckansu,  {cigana  in  Brazil ;)  it  has  a  crest, 
erectile  at  pleasure,  and  looks  like  a  pheasant.  Large  flocks  frequent 
the  cane  on  the  banks  of  the  river ;  they  have  a  very  game  look,  and 
are  attractive  to  the  sportsman  ;  but  the  Indians  call  them  a  foul  bird, 
and  do  not  eat  them  ;  the  crop  of  this  was  filled  with  green  herbage. 

October  4. — Clear  all  night,  with  heavy  dew.  The  anchor,  which  is 
a  sixty-four  pound  weight,  had  sunk  so  deep  in  the  thick  dark  sand  of 
the  bottom  as  to  require  the  united  exertions  of  all  hands  to  get  it. 
Met  three  canoes  going  down  loaded  with  sarsaparilla ;  bought  some 
yuccas  and  plantains  at  a  settlement  of  five  families  of  Conibos,  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  river.  Got  also  specimens  of  the  black  wax  of  the 
country,  and  "lacre,"  or  sealing-wax,  which  is  the  gum  of  a  tree, 
colored  red  with  achote.  The  black  wax  is  the  production  of  a  small 
bee  very  little  larger  than  an  ant,  which  builds  its  house  in  the  ground. 
The  white  wax  is  deposited  in  the  branches  of  a  small  tree,  which  are 
hollow,  and  divided  into  compartments  like  the  joints  of  a  cane.  The 
wood  is  sufficiently  soft  to  be  perforated  by  the  bee ;  the  tree  is  called 
cetica,  and  looks,  though  larger,  like  our  alder  bush. 

October  5. — Stopped  at  a  Conibo  rancho  on  the  right  bank.  Three 
men  and  six  women,  with  children,  were  living  in  the  rancho ;  they  were 
very  poor,  and  could  sell  us  nothing.  The  river  rose  six  inches  from 
eight  last  night  to  five  this  morning.  Shores  to-day  low,  with  large 
sand  beaches ;  only  four  feet  of  water  fifty  or  sixty  yards  from  them. 
Current  two  and  a  quarter  miles. 

October  G. — Passed  a  settlement  of  Conibos  on  left  bank — four  houses, 
eight  men  and  twenty-five  women  and  children.  It  was  quite  a  treat 
to  see  so  familiar  a  flower  as  the  convolvulus  growing  on  the  bank.  It 
was  not  so  large  or  so  gay  as  in  our  gardens,  but  had  a  home  look  that 
was  very  pleasing.  Passed  a  ravine,  up  which  there  is  a  settlement  of 
Amajuacas  Indians.  These  men  are  hunters,  who  live  in  the  interior, 
and  seldom  come  down  upon  the  rivers.  The  Pirros  and  Conibos  some- 
times make  war  upon  them,  and  bring  away  captives.  Yesterday  two 
men — one  a  Pano,  from  Sarayacu,  and  the  other  an  Amajuaca — joined  us 
to  work  their  passage  to  Sarayacu.     The  Amajuaca  was  so  good  a 


196  «5TA.  MARIA. 

» 

fellow,  and  worked  so  well,  that  I  paid  him  as  the  others.  Current  tvro 
and  a  quarter  miles. 

October  7. — River  half  a  mile  wide  and  rising  fast.  Trunks  of  trees 
begin  to  come  down.  Stopped  at  a  settlement  called  Guanache.  I  saw 
only  two  houses,  with  four  or  five  men  and  women  ;  they  said  that  the 
others  were  away  gathering  sarsaparilla.  These  people  cannot  count, 
and  can  never  get  from  them  any  accurate  idea  of  numbers.  They 
are  very  little  removed  above  the  "beasts  that  perish."  They  are 
filthy,  and  covered  with  the  sores  and  scars  of  sarna.  The  houses 
were  very  large,  measuring  between  thirty  and  forty  feet  of  length,  and 
ten  or  fifteen  in  breadth.  They  consist  of  immense  roofs  of  small  poles 
and  cane,  thatched  with  palm,  and  supported  by  short  stakes  four  feet  high 
and  three  inches  in  diameter,  planted  in  the  ground  three  or  four  feet 
apart,  and  having  the  spaces,  except  between  two  in  front,  filled  in  with 
cane.  Many  persons  "  pig"  together  in  one  of  these  houses.  Cotton 
was  growing  here.     Current  three  and  one-third  miles. 

October  9. — Stopped  at  the  village  of  Sta.  Maria,  a  Pirros  settlement, 
on  the  left  bank,  of  one  hundred  and  fifty  souls.  The  curaca,  who 
seemed  a  more  rational  and  respectable  being  than  the  rest,  and  whom 
I  afterwards  saw  in  Nauta,  told  me  that  there  were  thirty-three  Matri- 
monios.  These  Indians  ascend  the  Ucayali  in  their  canoes  to  a  point 
not  very  far  from  Cuzco,  where  they  go  to  exchange  rare  birds  and 
animals  for  beads,  fish-hooks,  and  the  little  silver  ornaments  which  they 
wear  in  their  noses.  They  bury  their  dead  in  his  canoe  under  the  floor 
of  his  house.  The  curaca  said  that  the  Conibos  buried  the  personal 
eflfects  of  the  deceased  with  him,  diflering  in  this  from  his  people,  the 
Pirros.  Their  language  is  also  different ;  but  in  all  other  things  they 
are  as  like  as  peas.  They  have  no  idea  of  a  future  state,  and  worship 
nothing.  In  fact,  I  think  they  have  no  ideas  at  all,  although  they  can 
make  a  bow  or  a  canoe,  and  take  a  fish;  and  their  women  can  weave  a 
coarse  cloth  from  cotton,  and  dye  it.  They  asked  us  if  we  had  not  in  our 
boxes  some  great  and  yifectious  disease,  which  we  coyld  take  up  and  let 
loose  among  their  enemies,  the  Cashibos  of  the  Pichilca. 

There  were  two  Moyobambinos  domiciliated  in  the  village,  purchasing 
salt  fish  from  the  Indian.",  (hw  of  them  told  me  that  an  Indian  would 
furnish  eighty  pieces  of  salt  fish  fur  eight  yards  of  tocoyo;  this  man  may 
have  "  lot  the  cat  out  of  the  bag,"  and  showed  me  how  they  cheat  the 
Indians.  A  yard  of  tocuyo  is  the  general  price  of  three  pieces.  A  fish 
called  payshi,  which  is  the  fish  ordinarily  salted,  was  brought  in  and  cut 
up  whilst  wo  were  here.  It  is  a  powerful  fish,  about  six  feet  long  and 
one  and  one-fourth  in  diameter.     The  head  is  fourteen  inches  long,  with 


CONIBO    DANDY.  197 

sliort  jaws  and  rather  small  mouth.  The  tongue,  when  dried,  is  as  hard 
as  bone,  and  is  comraonally  used  as  a  rasp.  The  scales  of  the  belly  and 
tail  are  bordered  with  a  bright  red  streak,  which  makes  the  fish  appear 
to  be  nearly  encircled  with  a  number  of  scarlet  rings,  and  gives  it  a  very 
pretty  appearance.     (It  is  called  pirarucu  in  Brazil.) 

Just  below  Sta.  Maria  is  the  mouth  of  a  creek,  or  small  channel  of  the 
river,  which,  cutting  across  a  narrow  neck  of  land,  connects  two  parts  of 
a  great  bend  of  the  river.  These  canals  across  an  isthmus  are  called  by 
the  Indians  tepishka.     This  one  is  only  navigable  when  the  river  is  fuU. 

Two  hom'S  after  leaving  Sta.  Maria  we  arrived  at  a  beach  where 
there  was  an  establishment  of  Senhor  Cauper's,  for  salting  fish.  These 
establishments  are  called  factorias.  A  nephew  of  the  old  man  has 
been  here  for  two  months,  attending  to  the  business.  Instead  of 
employing  the  Infidels,  he  brings  Indians  of  Nauta  with  him — people 
generally  who  are  in  Mr.  Cauper's  debt.  Twenty-five  Indians  collect 
and  salt  four  thousand  pieces  of  fish  in  six  weeks. 

Bought  fifty  pieces  at  six  and  a  quarter  cents  for  the  support  of  my 
peons.  From  eight  last  night  to  six  this  morning,  the  river  rose  but 
two  inches,  and  seems  to  be  now  falling. 

The  Indians  on  this  river  have  in  their  houses  cotton,  maize,  ground 
peas,  (mani,)  sweet  potatoes,  yuccas,  plantains,  fowls  and  fish,  bows  and 
arrows,  lances,  clubs,  paddles,  and  pretty  baskets  made  of  cane.  The 
women  weave  their  own  clothes,  and  those  of  their  husbands,  and  manage 
to  paint  figures  and  devices  on  the  cotton  after  it  is  woven.  The  Pirros 
and  Conibos  seem  taller  than  they  really  are,  on  account  of  their  cos- 
tume, which  is  a  long  cotton  gown.  I  have  seen  a  fellow  in  one  of 
these  gowns,  slowly  striding  over  a  beach,  look,  at  a  distance,  like  a 
Roman  patrician  in  his  "  toga." 

October  10. — River  fell  last  night  four  inches.  Stopped  on  Fuiri 
island  to  breakfast.  There  is  a  pretty  little  lake  occupying  nearly  the 
whole  centre  of  the  island.  We  passed  through  a  shallow  and  narrow 
arm  of  the  river  between  Puiri  island  and  the  right  bank.  River  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide  above  the  island. 

Met  a  Conibo,  with  his  wife  and  two  children,  on  the  beach.  This 
man  was  evidently  the  dandy  of  his  tribe.  He  was  painted  with  a 
broad  stripe  of  red  under  each  eye ;  three  narrow  stripes  of  blue  were 
carried  from  one  ear,  across  the  upper  lip,  to  the  other — the  two  lower 
stripes  plain,  and  the  upper  one  bordered  with  figures.  The  whole  of 
the  lower  jaw  and  chin  were  painted  with  a  blue  chain-work  of  figures, 
something  resembling  Chinese  figures.  Around  his  neck  was  a  broad 
tight  necklace  of  black  and  white  beads,  with  a  breastplate  of  the 


198  THE    UCAYALI. 

same  hanging  from  it,  and  partly  concealed  by  the  long  gown,  or  cushma. 
His  wrists  were  also  adorned  with  wide  bracelets  of  white  beads,  and 
above  these  a  bracelet  of  lizard  skins,  set  round  with  monkeys'. teeth. 
He  wore  a  little  silver  shield  hanging  from  his  nose,  and  a  narrow,  thin 
plate  of  silver,  shaped  like  a  paddle,  two  and  a  half  inches  long,  thrust 
through  a  hole  in  the  lower  lip,  and  hanging  on  the  chin.  He  had 
been  to  Cuzco,  where  he  got  his  silver  ornaments,  and  said  it  was  a 
journey  of  four  moons.  We  anchored  in  thirty-six  feet  water,  and 
found  a  current  of  three  miles  the  hour.     Calm,  clear  night ;  much  dew. 

October  11. — Stopped  to  breakfast  on  a  beach  on  the  left  bank,  back 
of  which,  on  the  firm  land,  were  two  houses  of  Remos  Indians.  There 
were  twenty-two  of  them — men,  women,  and  children — with  three  men 
of  the  Shipehos  tribe.  There  seemed  to  be  no  uniformity  in  their  paint, 
each  one  consulting  his  own  taste ;  though  there  was  one  man  and  a 
woman,  whom  I  understood  to  be  man  and  wife,  painted  exactly  alike. 
The  Remos  were  low  and  small;  the  Shipebos  taller.  They  were 
dressed  in  the  common  costume  of  the  Ucayali,  (the  cushma,)  and  had 
their  hair  cut  straight  across  the  forehead,  just  above  the  eyes,  so  as  to 
show  the  face,  set,  as  it  were,  in  a  frame  of  hair.  They  are  all 
filthy,  and  some  have  sarna.  As  far  as  I  have  observed,  more  women 
have  this  disease  than  men.  Passed  more  huts  afterwards,  and  some 
Indians  seeking  the  young  of  the  turtle  on  a  beach.  These  people  eat 
anything.  1  have  known  them  to  eat  the  eggs  of  the  turtle  with  the 
young  in  them,  and  also  turtle  that  had  died  a  natural  death  and 
had  become  offensive. 

October  12. — Passed  a  settlement  of  Couibos  on  the  right  bank, 
numbering  twenty-five*  or  thirty.  They  said  that  the  inhabitants  of  a 
village  called  Jluamuco,  which  Smyth  places  near  this  place,  had  gone 
to  the  Pachitea. 

October  13. — At  breakfast  we  found  a  smaller  kind  of  turtle  called 
charajnlla,  bettor  and  more  tender  than  the  largo  turtle  which  is  called 
charapa.  Stopped  at  a  little  settlement  of  Shipebos  on  the  right  bank — 
twenty-five  all  told.  Met  three  negroes,  with  a  crow  of  Conibos,  who 
had  been  up  the  river  for  sarsaparilla.  They  gathered  the  principal  part 
of  what  they  had  (about  sixty  arrobas)  in  the  Aguaytia,  but  had  been 
five  days  up  the  Pachitea,  and  six  up  the  Ucayali,  above  the  Pachitea. 
They  say  that  the  Cashibos  of  that  river  would  come  to  the  beach  in 
hostile  attitude ;  but  when  they  found  that  the  strangers  were  not 
Indians  of  the  Ucayali,  but  wore  trousei-s  and  had  guns,  they  tied. 

Passed  two  houses  of  Conibos,  about  fifteen  in  number.  One  of 
them,  taking  ua  for  padres,  insisted  that  Ijurra  should  baptize  his  child ; 


FATHER  LORENTE.  199 

whicli  was  accordingly  done.  He  gave  it  tlie  name  of  the  officiating 
priest,  writing  it  on  a  bit  of  paper  and  giving  it  to  tlie  mother,  who  put 
it  away  carefully.  I  believe  my  companion  was  upbraided  by  the 
priest  at  Sarayacu  for  doing  so.  The  head  of  the  infant  had  been 
bound  in  boards,  front  and  rear,  and  was  flattened  and  increased  in 
height.  I  do  not  observe  that  the  heads  of  the  adults  bear  any  trace  of 
this  custom. 

October  15. — Arrived  at  the  village  of  Tierra  Blanca,  belonging  to  tho 
Mission,  having  passed  yesterday  several  settlements  of  the  Indians,  and 
seen  for  the  first  time  the  hills  in  the  neighborhood  of  Sarayacu.  It  is 
a  clean  little  town,  of  two  hundred  inhabitants,  situated  on  an  eminenoo 
on  the  left  bank  about  twenty-five  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the 
river.  In  the  full  the  water  approaches  within  a  few  feet  of  the  lower 
houses. 

A  priest  from  Sarayacu,  "Father  Juan  de  Dios  Lorente,"  has  charge 
of  the  spiritual  and  pretty  much  of  the  temporal  concei-ns  of  the  village. 
He  is  here  at  this  time  celebrating  some  feast,  and  is  tho  only  white  man 
present.  The  Indians,  as  usual  at  a  feast  time,  were  nearly  all  drunk, 
and  made  my  men  drunk  also.  When  I  wished  to  start,  I  sent  Ijurra 
to  a  large  house  where  they  were  drinking  to  bring  our  people  to  th 
boat ;  he  soon  came  back,  foaming  with  rage,  and  demanded  a  gun,  that 
he  might  bring  them  to  obedience ;  I  soothed  him,  however,  and  went 
up  to  the  house,  where,  by  taking  a  drink  with  them,  and  practising  the 
arts  that  I  have  often  practised'before  in  getting  ofi"  to  the  ship  refractory 
sailors  who  were  drinking  on  shore,  I  succeeded  in  getting  off  a  sufiicient 
number  of  them  to  work  the  boat,  and  shoved  off  with  as  drunken  a 
boat's  crew  as  one  could  desire,  leaving  the  small  boat  for  the  others  to 
follow ;  this  they  are  sure  to  do  when  they  find  that  their  clothes  and 
bedding  have  been  taken  away.  The  padre  said  that  if  Ijurra  had  shot 
one,  they  would  have  murdered  us  all ;  but  I  doubt  that,  for  we  were 
well  armed,  and  the  Indians  are  afraid  of  guns. 

Padre  Loiente,  when  he  joined  the  Mission,  came  down  the  Pachitea 
in  nine  days  from  Mayro  to  Sarayacu  in  the  month  of  August ;  if  so, 
there  must  have  been  an  enormous  current  in  the  Pachitea  and  Ucayali 
above,  for  it  takes  thirty  days  to  reach  the  mouth  of  the  Pachitea  from 
Sarayacu,  which  distance  Padre  Lorente  descended  in  six ;  and  Padre 
Plaza  (who  is  said,  however,  to  be  a  slow  traveller)  took  eighteen  to 
ascend  the  Pachitea  from  its  mouth  to  Mayro,  which  Padre  Lorente 
accomplished  downwards  in  three.  I  judged  from  the  short  course  of 
this  river,  and  the  great  descent,  that  it  had  a  powerful  current.  Tho 
padre  said  that,  a  day's  journey  above  the  mouth  of  the  Pachitea,  hia 


200  THE    UCAYALI. 

men  liad  to  get  overboard  and  drag  the  canoe  over  the  bottom  for  five 
hundred  yards.  He  also  said  that  tlie  attempt  to  ascend  at  this  season 
must  result  in  failure ;  that  it  can  only  be  done  after  Easter,  wken  the 
current  is  not  so  rapid.  The  Aguaytia  and  Pishqui  are  also  small 
streams,  where  the  Indians  have  to  wade  and  drag  the  canoes. 

October  IG. — Started  at  0  a.m.;  stopped  at  half-past  five  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  river  Catalina.  It  seemed  thirty  yards  wide,  and  had 
a  small  island  in  front. 

The  ascent  of  the  river  is  very  tedious ;  we  barely  creep  along  against 
the  force  of  the  current,  and  day  after  day  "wearies  by"  in  the  most 
monotonous  routine.  I  frequently  land,  and  with  gun  on  shoulder,  and 
clad  only  in  shirt  and  drawers,  walk  for  miles  along  the  beaches.  My 
greatest  pleasure  is  to  watch  the  boat  struggling  up  against  the  tide. 
This  is  always  accompanied  with  emotions  of  pride,  mingled  with  a 
curious  and  scarcely  definable  feeling  of  surprise.  It  was  almost  start- 
ling to  see,  at  her  masthead,  the  beautiful  and  well-beloved  flag  of  my 
country  dancing  merrily  in  the  breeze  on  the  waters  of  the  strange  river, 
and  waiving  above  the  heads  of  the  swarthy  and  grim  figures  below.  I 
felt  a  proud  aflection  for  it ;  I  had  carried  it  where  it  had  never  been 
before;  there  was  a  bond  between  us;  we  were  alone  in  a  strange  land; 
and  it  and  I  were  brothers  in  the  wilderness. 

October  11. — Met  ten  canoes  of  Conibos — twenty-eight  men,  women, 
and  children — who  had  been  on  an  excui-sion,  with  no  particular  object, 
as  far  as  the  first  stones  in  the  Ucayali.  This  is  about  thirty-eight  days 
above  Sarayacu,  at  a  place  called  in  Quichua  "Rumi  Callarina,"  or 
commencement  of  the  rocks  ;  river  rising  for  the  last  two  or  three  days; 
passed  a  village  of  Shipebos,  called  Cushmuruna ;  hills  in  sight,  bearing 
south. 

October  18. — At  11  a.  m.  we  entered  the  Caiio  of  Sarayacu ;  at  this 
season  this  is  not  more  than  fifteen  or  eighteen  feet  wide,  and  nearly 
covered  with  a  tall  grass  something  like  broom-corn,  or  a  small  species 
of  cane.  (This  is  the  food  for  the  vaca  marina.)  The  caiio  has  as 
much  as  six  feet  depth  in  the  middle  for  two  miles,  but  it  soon  contracts 
80  51.S  scarcely  to  allow  room  for  my  boat  to  pass,  and  becomes  shallow 
and  obstructed  with  the  branches  of  small  trees  which  bend  over  it.  It 
also,  about  two  miles  from  its  mouth,  changes  its  character  of  caiio, 
or  arm  of  the  main  river,  and  becomes  the  little  river  of  Sarayacu,  which 
retires  and  advances  in  accordance  with  the  movements  of  its  great 
neighbor. 

We  could  not  got  our  boat  nearer  than  within  a  quarter  of  a  milo  of 
the  town ;  so  wo  took  small  canoes  from  the  bank,  and  curried  up  our 


THE    MISSIONARIES.  201 

equipage  in  them.  We  were  liospitably  received  by  the  padres,  and 
lodgings  were  given  us  in  the  convento,  a  large  house  with  several 
rooms  in  it. 

We  found  Sarayacu  a  rather  neat-looking  Indian  village,  of  about 
one  thousand  inhabitants,  including  Belen,  a  small  town  of  one  hundred 
and  fifty  inhabitants,  one  and  a  half  mile  distant.  It,  or  rather  the 
missionary  station — including  the  towns  of  Sta.  Catalina  and  Tierra 
Blanca — is  governed  by  four  Franciscan  friars,  of  the  college  of  Ocopa. 
The  principal  and  prefect.  Padre  Juan  Chrisostomo  Cimini,  being  now 
absent  on  a  visit  to  Ocopa,  the  general  direction  is  left  in  the  hands  of 
Father  Vicente  Calvo,  assisted  by  the  Fathers  Bregati  and  Lorente,  who 
have  charge  r^pectively  of  Sta.  Catalina  and  Tierra  Blanca. 

Father  Calvo,  meek  and  humble  in  personal  concerns,  yet  full  of  zeal 
and  spirit  for  his  office,  clad  in  his  long  serge  gown,  belted  with  a  cord, 
Avith  bare  feet  and  accurate  tonsure,  habitual  stoop,  and  generally  bearing 
upon  his  shoulder  a  beautiful  and  saucy  bird  of  the  parrot  kind,  called 
ckiriclis,  was  my  beau  ideal  of  a  missionary  monk.  He  is  an  Arra- 
gonese,  and  had  served  as  a  priest  in  the  army  of  Don  Carlos.  Bregati 
is  a  young  and  handsome  Italian,  whom"  Father  Calvo  sometimes  calls 
St.  John.  Lorente  was  a  tall,  grave,  and  cold-looking  Catalan.  A  lay- 
brother  named  Maquin,  who  did  the  cooking,  and  who  was  unwearied 
in  his  attentions  to  us,  made  up  the  establishment.  I  was  sick  here,  and 
think  that  I  shall  ever  remember  with  gratitude  the  affectionate  kindness 
of  these  pious  and  devoted  friars  of  St.  Francis. 

The  town  is  situated  on  a  level  plain  elevated  one  hundred  feet  above 
the  rivulet  of  the  same  name,  which  empties  into  the  Ucayali  at  three 
miles  distant. 

The  rivulet  does  not  afford  sufficient  water  for  a  canoe  in  the  dry 
season ;  but  at  that  time  a  fine  road  might  be  made  through  the  forest  to 
the  banks  of  the  Ucayali ;  this  probably  would  be  miry  and  deep  in  the 
rainy  season,  which  is  from  the  first  of  November  to  Easter.  We  had 
rain  nearly  every  day  that  we  were  there,  but  it  was  in  passing  showers, 
alternating  with  a  hot  sun.  The  climate  of  Sarayacu  is  delightful ;  the 
maximum  thermometer,  at  3  p.  m.,  being  84|°;  the  minimuir,  at  9  a. 
m.,  14.  The  average  temperature  of  the  day  is  79 ;  the  nights  are 
sufficiently  cool  to  allow  one  to  sleep  with  comfort  under  a  musquito 
curtain  made  of  gingham.  These  insects  are  less  troublesome  here 
than  might  be  expected,  which  may  be  seen  from  the  fact  that  the 
priests  are  able  to  live  without  wearing  stockings ;  but  it  is  a  continual 
penanc  ,  quite  equal,  I  should  think,  to  self-flagellation  once  a  week. 

The  soil  is  very  prolific,  but  thin  and  light ;  at  half  a  foot  below  the 


202  SARAYACU. 

surface  there  is  pure  sand  ;  and  no  Indian  thinks  of  cultivating  the  same 
farm  longer  than  three  years;  he  then  clears  the  forest  and  plants 
another.  There  is  nothing  but  a  little  coffee  produced  for  sale  m  the 
neighborhood  of  the  town.  The  fathers  extract  about  three  hundred 
arrobas  of  sarsaparilla,  from  the  small  streams  above,  and  sell  it  to 
Senhor*  Cauper  in  Nauta.  This  gives  them  a  profit  of  about  five  hun- 
dred dollars.  The  College  at  Ocopa  allows  them  a  dollar  for  eveiy  mass 
said  or  sung.  The  four  padres  are  able  to  perform  about  seven  hundred 
annually,  (those  for  Sundays  and  feast-days  are  not  paid  for;)  and  this 
income  of  twelve  hundred  dollars  is  appropriated  to  the  repairs  of  the 
churches  and  conventos,  church  furniture,  the  vestments  of  the  priests, 
their  table  and  chamber  furniture,  and  some  little  luxmries — such  as 
sugar,  flower,  vinegar,  &c.,  bought  of  the  Portuguese  below. 

The  padres  have  recently  obtained  an  order  from  the  prefect  of  the 
department  of  Amazonas,  giving  them  the  exclusive  right  of  collecting 
sarsaparilla  on  the  Ucayali  and  its  tributaries;  but  I  -doubt  if  this  will 
benefit  them  much,  for,  there  being  no  power  to  enforce  the  decree,  the 
Portuguese  will  send  their  agents  there  as  before. 

Each  padre  has  tAvo  Mitayos,  appointed  monthly — one  a  hunter,  the 
other  a  fisherman — to  supply  his  table  with  the  products  of  the  forest  and 
the  river.  The  Fiscales  cultivate  him  a  small  fann  for  his  yuccas  and 
plantains,  and  he  himself  raises  poultry  and  eggs ;  they  also  make  him 
rum  from  the  sugar-cane,  of  which  he  needs  a  large  supply  to  give  to 
the  constables,  [Varcn/os,  from  "vara,"  a  wand,  each  one  carrying  a 
cane,)  the  Fiscales,  and  the  Mitayos. 

The  government  is  paternal.  The  Indians  recognise  in  the  padre  the 
power  to  app6int  and  remove  curacas,  captains,  and  other  officers ;  to 
inflict  stripes;  and  to  confine  in  the  stocks.  They  obey  the  priest's 
orders  readily,  and  seem  tractable  and  docile.  They  take  advantage, 
however,  of  Father  Calvo's  good  nature,  and  are  sometimes  a  little  inso- 
lent. On  an  occasion  of  this  kind,  my  friend  Ijurra,  who  is  always  an 
advocate  of  strong  measures,  and  says  that  in  the  government  of  the 
Indians  there  is  nothing  like  the  sanio  palo,  (sacred  cudgel,)  asked 
Father  Calvo  why  he  did  not  put  the  impudent  rascal  in  (bo  stocks. 
But  the  good  Father  replied  that  he  did  not  like  to  ilo  it — that  it  was 
cruel,  and  hurt  the  poor  fellow's  legs. 

The  Indians  here,  as  elsewhere,  are  drunken  and  lazy.  The  women 
do  most  of  the  work  ;  carry  nnjst  of  the  burdens  to  and  from  the  chacras 
and  canoes;  make  the  masato,  and  the  earthen  vessels  out  of  which  it  is 
drunk ;  spin  the  cotton  and  weave  the  cloth ;  cook  and  Uike  care  of  the 
children.     And  their  reward  is  to  be  maltreated  by  their  husbands,  and, 


SARAYACU.  203 

in  their  drunken  frolics,  to  be  cruelly  beaten,  and  sometimes  badly- 
wounded.  • 

The  town  is  very  healthy,  there  being  no  endemics,  but  only  acute 
attacks  from  great  exposure  or  imprudence  in  eating  and  drinking. 
From  the  parish  register  it  appears  that  in  the  year  1850  there  were  ten 
marriages,  sixty  two  births,  and  twenty-four  deaths.  This  appears,  from 
an  examination  of  the  other  years,  to  be  a  pretty  fair  average ;  yet  the 
population  is  constantly  decreasing.  Father  Calvo  attributes  this  to 
desertion.  He  says  that  many  go  down  the  Amazon  with  passengers 
and  cargoes,  and,  finding  the  return  difiicult,  they  either  settle  in  the 
villages  upon  the  river  or  join  the  Tkumas,  or  other  Infidel  tribes,  and 
never  come  back. 

The  Spaniards,  from  the  Huallaga,  also  frequently  buy  the  young 
Indians  from  their  parents,  and  cany  them  ofi"  for  domestic  services  at 
home.  Father  Calvo  spoke  with  great  indignation  of  this  custom  ;  and 
said  if  he  could  catch  any  person  stealing  his  people  he  would  hang 
him  in  the  plaza.  Our  servant  Lopez  desired  me  to  advance  him  nine 
hatchets,  for  the  purpose  of  buying  a  young  Indian  which  his  father 
wished  to  sell.  But  I  told  Lopez  of  Father  Galvo's  sentiments  on  the 
subject,  and  refused  him.  Two  boys,  however,  put  off  in  a  canoe  the 
day  before  we  did  on  our  return,  and  joined  us  below  Tierra  Blanca. 
I  did  not  clearly  understand  who  they  were,  or  I  should  have  sent  them 
back. 

We  afterwards  met  with  a  boat's  crew  of  twelve,  who  had  come  ofi' 
with  a  young  Spaniard  of  Rioja,  (a  village  between  the  Huallaga  and 
Maraiion,)  who  did  not  intend  returning  ;  and  I  fear  that  many  of  those 
that  came  down  with  me  did  not  get  back  for  years,  if  at  all ;  though  I 
did  all  I  could  to  send  them  back. 

Thus  Sarayaou  is  becoming  depopulated  in  spite  of  the  paternal 
kindness  and  mild  government  of  Father  Calvo.  My  own  impression 
as  to  the  reason  of  their  desertion  is,  not  that  it  is  on  account  of  the 
difficulties  of  the  return,  or  indifference,  or  a  proclivity  to  fall  back  into 
savage  life ;  but  that  the  missionaries  have  civilized  the  Indians  in  some 
degree — have  taught  them  the  value  of  property,  and  awakened  in 
their  minds  ambition  and  a  desire  to  improve  their  condition.  For  this 
reason  the  Indian  leaves  Sarayacu  and  goes  to  Brazil.  In  Sarayacu 
there  are  comparatively  none  to  employ  him  and  pay  for  his  services. 
In  Brazil,  the  Portuguese  '•  commerciante,"  though  he  maltreats  him, 
and  does  not  give  him  enought  to  eat,  pays  him  for  his  labor.  Thus  he 
accumulates,  and  becomes  a  man  of  property  ;  and  in  the  course  of  time 
possibly  returns  to  his  family  in  possession  of  a  wooden  trunk  painted 


204  INDIANS    OF    THE    UCAYALI. 

blue,  with  a  lock  and  key  to  it,  and  filled  with  hatchets,  knives,  beads, 
fish-hooks,  mirrors,  (fee.  lie  has  seen  the*  world,  and  is  an  object  of 
envy  to  liis  kinsmen  and  neighbors. 

Not  included  among  the  deaths  of  1850  are  those  of  four  men  who 
died  from  poison.  In  one  of  their  drunken  frolics  the  Indians  were  dis- 
coursing of  the  properties  of  a  small  tree  or  shrub,  called  corrosive  sub- 
limate of  the  forest,  "soliman  del  monte,"  and  they  determined  to  test 
it.  They  rasped  a  portion  of  the  bark  into  their  masato,  and  five  men 
and  two  women  partook  of  it.  Four  of  the  men  died  in  three-quarters 
of  an  hour,  in  great  agony,  and  the  others  were  ill  for  a  long  time. 

Growing  in  the  padre's  garden  was  a  small  tree  bearing  a  fruit  about 
the  size  of  our  hickory  nut,  which  contained  within  a  small,  oblong  nut, 
called  piHon.  This  has  a  soft  shell ;  and  the  substance  of  the  nut  is  a 
mild,  safe,  and  efiicient  purgative.  There  was  also  a  bush  called 
"^ttay«<sa,"  a  decoction  of  the  leaves  of  which  is  said  to  be  good  for 
colds  and  rheumatism.     It  is  also  believed  to  be  a  cure  for  barrenness. 

The  friars  entertained  us  on  Sunday  evening  with  a  dance  of  Indians. 
These  were  dressed  in  frocks  and  trousers,  but  had  headdresses  made 
of  a  bandeau  or  circlet  of  short  and  rich-colored  feathers,  surmounted 
with  the  long  tail  feathers  of  the  scarlet  macaw.  They  had  strings 
of  dried  nut  shells  around  their  1^,  which  made  an  agreeable  jingling 
in  the  dance.  The  half-bent  knee,  and  graceful  waive  of  the  plumed  hat 
towards  the  priest  before  the  dance  commenced,  with  the  regularity  of 
the  figure,  gave  unmistakable  evidence  of  the  teaching  of  the  Jesuits, 
who  appear  to  have  neglected  nothing,  hpwever  trivial,  that  might  bind 
the  affections  of  the  proselytes,  and  gain  themselves  influence. 

The  inhabitants  of  Sarayacu  are  divided  into  three  distinct  tribes, 
called  Panos,  Omaguiis,  and  Yameos.  Tliey  dwell  in  different  parts  of 
the  town.  Each  tribe  has  its  peculiar  dialect ;  but  they  generally  com- 
municate in  the  Pano  language.  These  last  are  the  whitest  and  bestr 
looking  Indians  I  have  seen. 

I  was  unable  to  gather  much  authentic  information  concerning  the 
Infidels  of  the  Ucayali.  The  padres  had  only  been  in  Sarayacu  a  few 
years,  and  had  never  left  their  post  to  trav«'I  among  the  Indians. 

The  Canipas  are  the  most  numerous  and  warlike  tribe,  and  are  reso- 
lute in  forbidding  strangers  to  enter  their  territory.  They  inhabit  all 
the  upper  waters  of  the  Ucayali ;  and  I  think  it  probable  that  they  ar« 
the  same  who,  under  the  name  of  Chuiichos,  are  so  hostile  to  the  whites 
about  Chanchainayo,  and  on  the  hacionda-s  to  the  eastward  of  Cuzoo. 
These  are  the  people  who,  under  Juan  Santos  Atahaullpa,  in  1742, 
swept  away  all  the  Missions  of  the  Cerro  de  la  Sal ;  and  I  have  very 


INDIANS    OF    THE    UCAYALI.  205 

little  doubt  tbat  they  are  descendants  of  the  Inca  race.  From  the 
extent  of  their  territory,  one  might  judge  them  to  be  the  most  numerous 
body  of  savages  in  America ;  but  no  estimate  can  be  formed  of  their 
numbers,  as  no  one  capable  of  making  one  ever  ventures  among  them. 

The  cashibos,  or  Callisecas,  are  found  principally  on  the  Pachitea. 
Tliey  also  make  war  upon  the  invaders  or  visiters  of  their  territory  ;  but 
they  only  venture  to  attack  the  Indians  who  visit  their  river,  and  who 
often  come  to  make  war  upon  them  and  carry  off  their  children.  They 
rarely  trust  themselves  within  gun-shot  of  the  white  man;  they  are 
bearded,  and  are  said  to  be  cannibals.  A  small  tribe  called  Lorenzos 
live  above  these  on  the  head  waters  of  the  Pachita  and  banks  of  the 
river  of  Pozuzu. 

The  Sends  occupy  the  country  above  Sarayacu,  and  on  the  opposite 
side  of  the  river.  They  are  said  by  Lieutenant  Smyth,  from  information 
supplied  by  Father  Plaza,  (the  missionary  governor,  succeeded  in  his 
office  by  my  friends,)  who  had  visited  them,  to  be  a  numerous,  bold,  and 
warlike  tribe.  He  said  that  some  whom  he  saw  at  Sarayacu  exhibited 
much  interest  in  his  astronomical  observations.  They  had  names  for 
some  of  the  fixed  stars  and  planets,  two  of  which  struck  me  as  peculiarly 
appropriate.  They  called  the  brilliant  Canopus  "Noteste,"  or  thing  of 
the  day,  and  the  fiery  Mars  "Tapa,"  (forward ;)  Jupiter  they  called 
Ishmaioook  ;  Capella  was  Cuckara,  or  spoon  ;  and  the  Southern  Cross 
Hebo,  (dew-fall.)  I  saw  some  of  these  people  at  Sarayacu.  They 
frequently  come  to  the  mission  to  get  their  children  baptized,  to  which 
ceremony  most  of  the  Indians  seem  to  attach  some  virtue,  (as  they 
probably  would  to  any  other  ceremony,)  and  to  purchase  the  iron 
implements  they  may  stand  in  need  of;  but  I  saw  no  difference  in 
appearance  between  them  and  the  other  Indians  of  the  Ucayali,  and 
did  not  hear  that  there  was  anything  peculiar  about  them. 

Smyth  also  states  (still  quoting  Father  Plaza)  that  the  Sencis  are  a 
very  industrious  people,  who  cultivate  the  land  in  common,  and  that  they 
kill  those  who  are  idle  and  are  indisposed  to  do  their  fair  share  of  the 
work.  If  this  be  true,  they  are  very  different  from  the  savages  of  the 
Ucayali  whom  I  have  met  with,  who  are  all  drones,  and  who  would  be 
rather  disposed  to  kill  the  industrious  than  the  lazy,  if  they  were  dis- 
posed to  kill  at  all,  which  I  think  they  are  not. 

The  Conibos,  Shipebos,  Setebos,  Pirros,  Remos,  and  Amajuacas  are 
the  vagabonds  of  the  Ucayali,  wandering  about  from  place  to  place, 
and  settling  where  they  take  a  fancy.  They  are  great  boaiuaen  and 
fishermen,  and  are  the  people  employed  by  the  traders  to  gather  sarsa- 
parilla  and  salt  fish,  and  make  oil  or  lard  from  the  fat  of  the  vaca 


206  INDIANS    OF  THE  TTCAYALI. 

marina,  and  turtle's  eggs.  They  have  settlements  on  the  banks  of  the 
river  ;  but  many  of  them  live  in  their  canoes,  making  huts  of  reeds  and 
palms  upon  the  beaches  in  bad  weather.  I  could  never  ascertain  that 
they  worshipped  anything,  or  had  any  ideas  of  a  future  state.  Many 
have  two  or  three  wives ;  they  marry  young  and  have  many  children, 
but  do  not  raise  more  than  half  of  them.  They  seem  docile  and  tractr 
able,  though  lazy  and  faithless.  They  will  not  trust  the  white  man,  for 
which  they  have  probably  good  cause  ;  and  the  white  man  would  not 
trust  them  if  he  coiJd  help  it ;  but  the  Indian  will  do  nothing  unless  he 
is  paid  in  advance. 

Finally,  the  Mayorunas  occupy  the  right  bank  of  the  Ucayali,  near  its 
mouth,  and  extend  along  the  southern  borders  of  the  Amazon  as  far  as 
the  Yavari.  Very  little  is  known  of  this  tribe.  They  are  said  to  be 
whiter  than  the  other  tribes,  to  wear  their  beards,  and  to  go  naked. 
They  attack  any  person  who  comes  into  their  territory ;  and  our  Nauta 
boatmen  were  careful  not  to  camp  on  their  side  of  the  river. 

When  I  left  Nauta  I  intended  to  ascend  the  Ucayali,  if  possible,  as  far 
as  Chanchamayo,  and  also  to  examine  the  Pachitea.  On  arriving  at 
Sarayacu  I  consulted  Father  Calvo  on  the  subject.  He  at  first  spoke 
discouragingly  ;  said  that  the  larger  part  of  the  population  of  his  village 
were  away  fishing,  and  that  I  would  have  great  difficulty  in  recruiting  a 
sufficient  number  of  men  for  the  expedition ;  for  that  Padre  Ciniini,  year 
before  last,  with  a  complement  of  one  himdred  and  fifty  men,  had  been 
beaten  back  by  the  Campas  Avhen  within  one  day  of  Jesus  Maria,  at  the 
confluence  of  the  Pangoa  and  Perene,  and  had  declared  it  was  folly  to 
attempt  it  with  a  less  number,  and  these  well  armed.  P'ather  Calvo 
also  said  that,  could  he  raise  the  men  by  contributions  from  Ticrra  HIanca 
and  Sta.  Catalina,  he  coxild  not  possibly  furnish  provisions  for  half  that 
number,  I  told  him  I  was  ready  to  start  with  twenty-five  men  :  fifteen 
for  ray  own  boat,  and  ten  for  a  lighter  canoe,  to  act  as  an  advanced 
guard,  and  to  depend  upon  the  river  itself  for  support ;  that  I  had  no 
idea  of  invading  the  Infidel  country,  or  forcing  a  psissagc  ;  and  that  the 
moment  I  met  with  resistance,  or  want  of  provisions,  I  would  return. 

Upon  this  reasoning  the  padro  said  ho  would  do  his  best,  and  sent 
off  expresses  to  Fathers  Brogati  and  Lorento  with  instructions  to  recruit 
men  in  Tierra  Blanca  and  Sta.  Catalina,  and  send  them,  with  what 
provisions  could  be  mustered,  to  Sarayacu.  In  the  mean  time  wc  com- 
menced beating  up  recruits,  and  gave  orders  to  make  farinha,  gather 
barba5c#for  fishing  on  the  route,  and  distil  aguadiente. 

Wo  found,  however,  although  f  oflVr-'d  doubI<'  ]viy,  that  we  could  not 
get  more  than  eight  men  in   Sarayacu  who   were   willing  to  go  at  this 


INDIANS    OF    THE    UCAYALI.  207 

season.  Many  of  the  Sarayacu  people  had  been  with  Father  Cimini  on 
his  expedition.  They  said  that  the  current  was  so  strong  then,  when 
the  river  was  low,  that  they  were  forced  to  drag  the  canoes  by  ropes 
along  the  beaches ;  that  now  the  current  was  stronger,  and  the  river  so 
full  that  there  were  no  beaches,  and  consequently  no  places  for  sleeping, 
or  on  which  to  mate  fires  for  cooking.  In  short,  they  made  a  thousand 
excuses  for  not  going  ;  but  I  think  the  principal  reason  was,  fear  of  the 
Campas. 

Fathers  Bregati  and  Lorento  reported  that  they  could  not  raise  a  man, 
so  that  I  saw  myself  obliged  to  abandon  the  expedition  upon  which  I 
had  rather  set  my  heart ;  for  I  thought  it  possible  that  I  might  gather 
great  reputation  with  my  Chanchamayo  friends  by  joining  them  ao"ain 
from  below,  and  showing  them  that  their  darling  wish  (a  communication 
with  the  Alantic  by  the  Perene  and  Ucayali)  might  be  accomplished. 

I  felt,  in  turning  my  boat's  head  down  stream,  that  the  pleasure  and 
excitement  of  the  expedition  were  passed ;  that  I  was  done,  and  had 
done  nothing.  I  became  ill  and  dispirited,  and  never  fairly  recovered 
the  gayety  of  temper  and  elasticity  of  spirit  which  had  animated  me  at 
the  start,  until  I  received  the  congratulations  of  my  friends  at  home. 


208  THE    UPPER   UCAYALI. 


CHAPTER  XI. 

Upper  Ucayali — M.  Castelnau — Length  of  navigation — Loss  of  the  priest — De- 
parture from  Sarayacu — Oniaguas — Iquitos — Mouth  of  the  Napo — Pebas — San 
Jose  de  los  Yaguas — State  of  Indians  of  Peru. 

I  have  the  less  regret,  however,  in  that  M.  Castelnau  has  given  so 
exact  and  interesting  an  account  of  the  descent  of  this  river. 

This  accomplished  traveller  and  naturalist  left  Cuzco  on  the  2l8t 
July,  184G.  His  party  consisted  of  himself,  M.  D'Osery,  M.  Deville,  M. 
Saint  Cric,  (who  joined  the  party  in  the  valley  of  Sta.  Ana,)  three  offi- 
cers of  the  Peruvian  navy,  seven  or  eight  domestics  and  muleteers,  and 
fifteen  soldiers  as  an  escort.  After  seven  days  of  travel  (passing  a  range 
of  the  Andes  at  an  elevation  of  fourteen  thousand  eight  hundred  feet) 
he  arrived  at  the  village  of  Ucharate,  in  the  valley  of  Sta.  Ana. 

He  remained  at  this  place  until  the  14th  of  Adgust,  when  the  canoes 
and  rafts  which  he  had  ordered  to  be  constructed  were  ready.  He 
then  embarked  on  a  river  called  by  the  various  names  of  Vilcanota, 
Yucay,  Vilcomayo,  and  Urubamba,  in  four  canoes  and  two  balsas. 

The  difficulties  of  the  navigation,  dissensions  with  the  Peruvian  oQ.- 
cers,  and  desertions  of  the  peons,  soon  reduced  the  expedition  to  a 
lamentable  state  of  weakness  and  destitution. 

On  the  17th  M.  D'Osery  was  sent  back  with  a  large  part  of  the  equip- 
age, and  most  of  the  instruments  and  collections  in  natural  history. 
This  unfortunate  gentleman  was  nmrdercd  by  his  guides  on  his  route 
from  Lima  to  rejoin  M.  Castelnau  on  the  Amazon.  After  passing  innu- 
merable cascades  and  rapids,  },[,  Castelnau  reached,  on  the  27th  of 
August,  the  lowest  rapid  on  the  river,  that  is  an  effectual  bar  to  naviga- 
tion. This  is  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  from  his  point  of  embarka- 
tion at  Eaharato.  An  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  difficulties  of  the 
passage  when  it  is  reflected  that  it  cost  him  thirteen  days  to  descend 
this  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles,  with  a  powerful  current  in  his 
favor. 

He  found  this  point,  by  the  barometer,  to  be  about  nine  hundred  and 
sixteen  feet  below  Echaratd;  thus  giving  the  river  a  fall  of  a  little  more 
than  five  feet  to  the  mile.  He  afterwards  found  that  the  mouth  of  the 
Ucayali,  which  is  one  thousand  and  forty  miles  down  stream  of  the  cas- 


Pi  15 


-tvi:  Aa.  1 


■■<-■■■  *^^^.---.-;*'^.^C,jg^; 


1 


PL  16 


PrrVfernazzi  d' 


7.  A  P  A  R  0 


Winner  &  Mc.  Gui^ans  kth,  Phila.^ 


THE    UPPER    UCAYALI.  209 

cade,  was,  by  the  barometer,  nine  hundred  ancj  four  feet  below  it ;  thus 
giving  the  river  a  fall  of  .87  of  a  foot  per  mile. 

He  says  that  if  the  navigation  of  the  Ucayali  is  attempted,  it  would 
be  well  to  make  a  port  at  this  point,  and  open  a  road  thence  to  the 
valley  of  Sla.  Ana,  ij^  which  Echarate  is  situated,  and  which  is  exceed- 
ingly fertile,  producmg  large  quantities  of  Peruvian  bark,  with  coca, 
and  many  other  tropical  productions. 

M.  Casteloau  thinks  that  this  last  cascade  is  the  first  impassable, 
barrier  to  the  navigation  of  the  Ucayali  upwards;  but  he  found  many* 
places  below  this  where  the  river  had  but  a  depth  of  three  feet,  and 
many,  though  unimportant,  rapids.  Indeed,  two  hundred  and  seventy 
miles  below  this,  he  describes  a  strait,  called  the  Vuelta  del  Diablo,  as 
a  dangerous  passage,  blocked  up  by  heavy  trunks  of  trees,  against 
which  the  current  dashes  with  great  violence. 

At  two  hundred  and  sixteen  miles  below  the  cascade  he  passed 
the  mouth  of  theriver  Tambo,  the  confluence  of  which  with  the 
Urubamba  makes  Wl'tlcayali. 

Two  hundred  and  fifty-two  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Tambo  he 
passed  the  mouth  of  the  Pachitea,  which  he  describes  as  being  about 
the  size  of  the  Seine  at  Paris;  and  the  Ucayali,  after  the  junction  of 
this  river,  as  like  the  Thames  at  London. 

Sarayacu  is  two  hundred  and  ninety-seven  miles  below  the  mouth  of 
the  Pachitea.  « 

From  the  Vuelta  del  Diablo  to  Sarayacu  is  four  hundred  and  ninety- 
five  miles.  From  Sarayacu  to  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali  is  two  hun- 
dred  and  seventy  five  miles;  so  that  we  have  an  undoubtedly  open 
navigation  on  this  river  of  seven  hundred  and  seventy  miles ;  and, 
taking  M.  Castelnau's  opinion  as  correct,  there  are  two  hundred  and 
seventy  miles  more  to  the  foot  of  the  last  cascade  on  the  Urubamba; 
making  a  total  of  one  thousand  and  forty  miles.  Well,  then,  may  he  ' 
call  this  stream  the  njain  trunk  of  the  Amazon ;  for,  taking  my  esti- 
mate  of  the  distance  from  the  mouth  of  this  river  to  the  ocean,  at  two 
thousand  three  hundred  and  twenty  miles,  we  have  an  uninterrupted 
navigation  of  three  thousand  three  hundred  and  sixty  miles,  which  will 
be  found  in  no  other  direction.  I  estimate  the  distance  from  the  Porigo 
de  Chasuta,  the  head  of  clear  navigation  on  the  Huallaga,  to  the  sea, 
at  two  thousand  eight  hundred  and  fifteen  miles. 

An.  idea  may  be  formed  of  the  difficulties  and  dangers  of  passing  the 
rapids  of  these  rivers  from  the  following  description,  given   by  this 
accomplished  gentleman  and  clever  writer  : 
14 


210  DANGERS   OF    NAVIGATIOX. 

"  We  started  about  8«o'o]ock,  and  employed  an  hour  and  a  half  in 
passing  the  cascade,  which  was  composed  of  two  strong  rapids.  Imme- 
diately after  this,  two  other  rapids  arrested  our  course.  We  jassed  the 
first  by  the  left  bank ;  but,  as  it  was  impossible  to  continue  our  route  on 
that  side,  after  consultation,  we  embarked  to  cro^to  the  right  bank. 

"We  found  the  current  of  exceeding  rapidity;  and  the  second  cataract 
roai'cd  and  foamed  only  one  hundred  metres  below  us.  Tlie  Indians  at 
ever)'  instant  cast  anxious  glances  over  the  distance  that  separated  them 
from  the  danger.  At  one  moment  our  frail  canoe  manifestly  lost  ground ; 
but  the  Indians  redoubled  their  eftbrts,  and  we  shot  out  of  the  strength 
of  the  current. 

"At  this  moment  we  heard  cries  behind  us,  and  an  Indian  pointed 
with  his  finger  to  the  canoe  of  M,  Carrasco,  within  a  few  yards  of  us. 
It  was  struggling  desperately  with  the  violence  of  the  current;  at  one 
instant  we  thought  it  safe,  but  at  the  next  we  saw  that  all  hope  was  lost, 
and  that  it  was  hurried  towards  the  gulf  with  the  tapidity  of  an  arrow. 
The  Peruvians  and  the  Indians  threw  themselves  inro  the  water  ;  the  old 
priest  alone  remained  in  the  canoe,  and  we  could  distinctly  hear  him 
reciting  the  prayer  for  the  dying  until  his  voice  was  lost  in  the  roar  of 
the  cataract.  We  were  chilled  with  horror ;  and  we  hastened  to  the 
bank,  where  we  met  our  comjtanions  successively  struggling  to  the  shore 
from  the  lost  canoe.  M.  Bizorra,  particularly,  encountered  great  danger, 
but  he  evinced  a^emarkable  sangfroid,  and,  amidst  his  difficulties,  never 
let  go  the  journal  of  the  expedition,  which  he  carried  in  his  teeth. 

"Poor  little  Panchito,  the  servant  of  the  prie^st,  wept  bitterly,  and 
b?gged  us  to  let  him  seek  the  body  of  his  benefactor ;  but  an  hour  was 
already  lost,  and  our  absolute  want  of  provisions  forbid  us  from  acceding 
to  his  sad  demand. 

"We  deeply  regretted  the  loss  of  our  companion,  whose  death  was  as 
saint-like  as  his  life." 

Tlie  party  suffered  greviously  from  the  hardships  of  the  voyage  and 
the  want  of  food.  They  were  at  the  point  of  starvatiim  when  they 
arrived  at  Sar^acu,  forty-four  days  after  their  embarkation  at  Echarat6. 
M.  Castxlnau's  description  of  their  condition  when  thoy  arrived  is  quit« 
touching. 

"At  3  p.  ra.,  after  a  journey  of  tliirty  raile,s,  tlie  Indians  all  at  once 
turned  ilu-  canoe  to  a  deserted  beach,  and  told  us  that  we  were  arrived 
at  Sarayacu.  Before  us  was  the  bed  of  a  little  river  nearly  dry,  to 
which  th«'y  gave  this  name.  The  absence  of  any  indication  of  habita- 
tions, and  the  dark  forest  which  surrounded  the  beach,  made  us  believe 
for  the  instant  that  we  were  the  victims  of  some  terrible  mistake.     We 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SARAYACU.  211 

thought  that  tlie  mission  so  ardently  desired  had  been  abandoned. 
Among  our  people  only  one  knew  the  place,  and  his  canoe  had  not  yet 
arrived.  We  set  ourselves  to  search  out  a  path  through  the  forest,  but 
without  success ;  we  were  completely  discouraged,  and  our  eyes  filled 
with  tears."  (The  gallant  Frenchman  must  have  suffered  much  to  have 
been  brought  to  such  a  condition  as  this.)  "We  were  in  this  state  of 
anxiety  more  than  an  hour ;  at  last  our  guide  arrived ;  he  told  us  that 
the  town  was  some  distance  from  the  river,  and,  after  considerable  search, 
he  found  in  a  ravine  the  entrance  to  the  narrow  path  which  led  to  it.  M. 
Deville  and  I  were  so  enfeebled,  and  our  legs  so  swollen,  that  we  could 
not  travel  it.  M.  Carrasco,  anxious  to  arrive,  started  in  company  with, 
his  friends ;  and  Florentino  (the  servant  of  the  count)  accompanied  them. 
We  were  thus  sadly  detained  upon  the  beach,  when,  towards  nine  o'clock, 
we  thought  we  heard  singing  in  the  woods ;  the  voices  soon  became 
distinct,  and  we  could  recognise  the  airs.  An  instant  after,  the  good 
Florentino  rushed  to  us  in  the  height  of  joy.  He  was  followed  by  a 
dozen  Indians  of  the  Mission  carrying  torches,  and  a  man  dressed  in 
European  costume.  This  last  gave  us  an  affectionate  shake  of  the  hand, 
and  told  us,  in  English,  that  his  name  was  Hackett ;  that  the  prefect  of 
the  Missions,  the  celebrated  Padre  Plaza,  had  sent  him  to  welcome  us 
and  to  beg  us  to  excuse  him,  in  that  his  great  age  had  not  permitted  him 
to  come  himself.  The  Indians  brought  us  fowls,  eggs,  and  a  bottle  of 
wine ;  suppei*  was  instantly  prepared ;  and  Mr.  Ilackett,  who  seemed 
sensibly  touched  with  our  misery,  staid  with  us  till  midnight.  He  told 
us  that  the  Mission  was  nearly  six  miles  in  the  interior,  but  that  he 
would  send  us  Indians  early  in  the  •morning  to  conduct  us  to  it.  We 
learned  that  the  Peruvian  government,  faitht'ul  to  its  engagements,  had 
announced  our  voyage  in  the  Missions,  and  that  the  Bishop  of  Mainas 
had  sent  an  express  messenger  to  that  effect ;  but  Padre  Plaza,  regarding 
our  voyage  from  Cuzco  to  the  Missions  as  an  absolute  impossibility,  had 
supposed  that  we  were  dead,  and  had  celebrated  masses  for  the  weal  of 
our  souls." 
■  I  could  get  any  number  of  men  for  the  voyage  down,  and  on  October 
28th,  at  10  a.  m.,  we  left  Sarayacu  and  dropped  down  to  the  mouth  of 
the  cano,  where  westopped  to  re-stow  and  shake  things  together.  We 
found  the  Ucayali  a  very  different-looking  stream  from  what  it  was  when 
we  left  it ;  it  was  much  higher,  with  a  stronger  current,  and  covered 
with  floating  trees.  At  3  p.  m.  we  took  leave  of  good  Father  Calvo 
with  much  regret,  and  started  in  company  with  Father  Bregati,  (who 
was  returning  to  his  cure  of  Catalina,)  and  with  a  large  canoe  that  we 
were  carrying  down  for  the  return  of  our  peons  from  Pebas. 

I  was  much  pleased  with  our  new  men,  particularly  with  our  pilot, 


212  THE    UCAYALI. 

old  Andres  Urquia,  a  long,  hard-weather,  Tom-Coffin-looting  feIlo\r, 
•whom  travel  and  exposure  for  many  years  seemed  to  have  hardened 
into  a  being  insensible  to  fatigue,  and  impervious  to  disease,  lie  has 
navigated  the  rivers  of  the  country  a  great  deal ;  was  with  Father 
Cimini  when  driven  back  by  the  Campas ;  and  says  that  he  has  passed, 
in  company  with  a  Portuguese,  named  Da'Costa,  from  the  Yavari  to  the 
Ucayali  in  two  weeks,  by  a  small  inosculating  stream  called  Yana 
Yacu,  and  returned  in  four  by  the  ravine  of  Maquia.  He  says  that 
there  is  another  natural  canal  called  Yawaranr/i,  which  connects  the 
two  rivers.  Those  canals  are  all  very  narrow,  and  are  passed  by  push- 
ing the  canoe  with  poles ;  though  Andres  says  there  is  plenty  of  water, 
but  not  room  enough  for  such  a  boat  as  mine. 

We  passed  the  distance  from  Sarayacu  to  Nauta  in  eight  days,  which 
had  cost  us  twenty-three  in  the  ascent.  The  distance  from  Sarayacu 
to  the  mouth  by  the  channel  is  two  hundred  and  seventy  miles — in  a 
straight  line  one  hundred  and  fifty.  We  travelled  all  one  night  when 
near  the  mouth;  but  this  is  dangerous  on  the  Ucayali  and  Iluallaga. 
The  channels  on  these  rivers  are  frequently  obstructed  by  grounded  trees, 
striking  one  of  which  the  boat  would  almost  inevitably  perish.  It  is 
sjifer  on  the  broader  Amazon. 

The  Ucayali,  as  far  as  Sarayacu,  averages  half  a  mile  of  width, 
twenty  feet  of  depth  at  its  lowest  stage,  and  three  miles-  the  hour  of 
current.  I  fear  that  there  is  a  place  at  the  great  bend  of  the  river, 
just  below  Sarayacu,  where  there  are  islands  with  extensive  sand-flats, 
that  may  form,  at  the  lowest  stage  of  the  river,  an  obstruction  to  navi- 
gation for  a  vessel  of  greater  draught  than  ten  feet.  At  this  place,  going 
up,  we  were  paddling  close  in  to  the  left  bank,  with  apparently  deep 
waterj  when,  seeing  a  beach  on  what  I  ihought  w;is  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  probably  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  distant,  I  directed 
the  pilot  to  go  over  and  camp  for  the  night.  To  my  surprise,  almost 
immediately  from  the  moment  of  his  turning  the  boat's  head  outward 
to  cross  over,  the  men  dropped  their  paddles,  and,  taking  to  their  poles, 
shoved  the  boat  over  in  not  more  than  four  or  five  feet  water.  I  ob- , 
served,  when  we  had  crossed,  that  we  were  on  the  beach  of  an  island, 
and  asked  the  pilot  if  there  was  more  water  in  the  other  channel,  on  the 
right  bank.  He  said,  yes ;  that,  when  the  river  was  very  low,  this  side 
waft  dry,  but  the  other  never. 

It  is  dillicult,  on  account  of  the  roving  habits  of  the  people  who  live 
upon  the  Ucayali,  to  make  any  estimate  concerning  the  increase  and 
decrease  of  the  population.  I  scarcely  find  a  village  that  Smyth  names 
when  he  parsed  in  1835,  and  find  several  which  ho  does  not  mention. 
Tipishka  Nueva,  which  ho  says  was  the  largest  settlement  on  the  river 


THE  UCAYALI.  213 

next  to  Sarayacu,  and  had  a  population  of  two  hundred,  has  now  en- 
tirely disappeared  ;  and  Sta.  Maria,  of  which  he  makes  no  mention,  has 
ijprobably  been  settled  since  he  was  here,  and  has  at  present  one  hundred 
and  fifty  souls.  I  thought  it  singular  (but  of  course  a  casualty)  that, 
in  summing  up  my  estimates  of  the  number  of  the  people  on  the  river, 
between  its  mouth  and  Sarayacu,  I  find  it  to  amount  to  six  hundred 
,  and  thirty-four,  and  that  Smyth's  estimate  makes  it  six  hundred  and 
forty.  As  it  regards  the  length  and  direction  of  the  reaches  of  the 
river,  I  find  that  officer  remarkably  correct.  He  descended  about  the 
1st  of  March,  and  of  course  had  the  river  wider  and  deeper,  and  the 
current  stronger  than  I  found  it ;  for  this  reason  our  accounts  differ 
somewhat. 

The  difference  between  high  and  low-water  mark  is  about  thirty-five 
feet.  I  planted  a  pole  at  a  settlement  called  Guanache  as  I  went  up,  on 
the  9th  of  October;  when  I  passed  it  going  down,  on  the  1st  of  Novem- 
ber, I  found  the  river  had  risen  nine  feet  seven  inches.  It  did  not,  how- 
ever, commence  its  regular  and  steady  rise  till  the  15th  of  October.  A 
mile  inside  of  the  mouth,  in  the  middle  of  the  river,  I  found  seventy-two 
feet  of  depth,  and  two  and  three-quarter  miles  current  per  hour.  The 
bottom  of  the  river  is  full  of  sunken  trees..  I  lost  two  sounding-leads 
and  three  axe-heads  in  the  descent.  My  sounding- line,  however,  had 
become  very  rotten  from  the  dampness  of  the  atmosphere,  and  did  not 
even  stand  the  strain  of  the  current  upon  the  log-chip,  which  I  also  lost. 

I  had  intended  to  stay  at  Nauta  some  days,  for  I  found  that  so  much 
canoe,  life  was  beginning  to  affect  my  health,  and  that  I  ^-as  getting 
weaker  day  by  day ;  but  Nauta  seemed  a  different  place  than  wHen  I 
left  it.  Arehalo,  the  priest,  and  Antonio  the  Paragud,  were  gone,  and 
Senhor  Cauper  seemed  out  of  humor,  and  not  glad  to  see  us.  I  expect 
the  old  gentleman  was  troubled  in  his  mind  about  his  fish.  He  had 
throe  thousand  pieces  on  a  beach  of  the  Ucayali,  with  the  river  risino- 
fast  and  threatening  its  safety;  while  his  boats  had  just  got  off  to  fetch 
them  away,  and  were  travelling  very  slowly  up. 

I  wished  to  get  a  few  more  peons ;  but  there  were  no  authorities,  and 
the  Indians  were  engaged  in  drinking  and  dancing.  Two  of  ray  men, 
whom  I  had  picked  up  at  a  settlement  called  Santos  Guagua,  on  the 
Ucayali,  deserted,  though  paid  as  far  as  Pebas.  I  feared  to  lose  more ; 
and,  collecting  the  few  birds  and  animals  I  had  left  here,  I  started  at 
half-past  5  p.  m.  on  the  5th  of  November,  having  slept  in  my  boat  on 
the  night  of  the  4th  for  the  want  of  a  house,  and  been  nearly  devoured 
by  the  musquitoes. 


214  OilAGUAS. 

I  left  Lopez,  the  servant,  who  had  only  engaged  for  the  Ucayali  trip, 
and  two  of  my  Sarayacu  people,  who  were  reported  to  have  gone  into 
the  woods  to  gather  chambira,  but  who  I  suspected  were  drinkiiTg  with^ 
the  Cocamas,  and  did  not  wish  to  be  found. 

We  drifted  with  the  current  all  night.     The  soundings  at  the  mouth 
of  the  Ucayali  were  forty-two  feet.     The  Amazon  looked  grand  in  the 
moonlight,  below  the  island  of  Omaguas,  where  I  judged  it  to  be  a  mile  . 
and  a  half  wide. 

November  G. — "We  arrived  at  Omaguas  at  5  a.  m.  The  two  Sarayacu 
men  that  I  had  left  at  Nauta  joined  us  in  the  montaria  which  I  had  left 
there  fw  them,  carrying  off  their  bedding. 

Omaguas  is  situated  on  a  height  on  the  left  bank,  and  is  screened 
from  the  river,  at  this  season,  by  a  small'  island,  which  is  covered  in  the 
full.  The  entrance  now  is  by  a  narrow  creek,  to  the  southward  of  the 
town.  .  The  number  of  inhabitants  is  two  hundred  and  thirty-two,  of 
the  tribes  of  Omaguas  and  Panos.  They  are  peons  and  fishermen ; 
cultivate  chacras;  and  live  in  the  usual  filthy  and  wretched  condition 
of  all  these  people.  I  gave  some  calomel,  salts,  and  spermaceti  6int- 
ment  to  the  governor's  wife,  who  was  a  pitiable  object— ^a  mere  skeleton, 
and  covered  with  inveterate-lookilig  sores,  I  was.  reminded  of  Lazarus, 
or  old  Job  in  his  misery.  I  doubt  if  my  remedies.  weVe  of  the  proper 
sort;  but  her  husband  and  she  were  anxious  to  have  them;  and  she 
will  probably  die  soon  at  any  rate,  and  cannot  well  be  worsted. 

Left  Omaguas  at  a  quarter  past,  nine  ;  at  eleven,  anchored  near  mid- 
stream in 'eighty-four  feet  water,  and  found  two  and  one-third  miles 
current ;  river  three-fourths  of  a  mile  wide ;  shores  low,  and  wooded 
with  apparently  small  trees,  though  they  may  have  appeared  small  on 
account  of  the  width  of  the  river ;  sand  benches  few  and  small. 

At  noon,  moderate  breeze  from  the  northward  and  eastward.  Ther- 
mometer 8G°.  Most  of  the  men  and  animals  fast  asleep.  Even  the 
monkeys,  except  a  restless  fiiar,  (who  seems  as  sleepless  as  I  nni,)  are 
dozing.  The  friar  gapes  and  closes  his  eyes  now  and  then  ;  but  at  the 
next  instant  appears  to  have  discovered  something  strange  or  new,  and 
is  as  wide  awake  and  alert  as  if  he  never  slej)t. 

There  was  a  great  disturbance  among  the  animals  this  morning. 
Tlie  J^umagarza,  or  tiger  crane,  (from  being  speckled  and  colored  like 
the  tig<T  of  the  country,)  with  a  bill  as  long  and  sharp  as  an  Infidel's 
spear,  luis  picked  to  pii-cas  the  head  of  a  delicate  sort  of  turkey-hen, 
called  Pava  del  Monte.  The  Dijmtado  (as  we  call  a  white  monkey, 
because  Ijurra  says  he  is  (lie  image  of  the  worthy  deputy  in  Congress 
from  Chachapoyas)  has  eaten  off  the  ear  of  the  Maquisapa,  (a  stupid- 


THE    NAPO.  215 

looking  black  monkey,  called  Coata  in  Brazil,)  and  the  tail  of  another, 
called  Yanacmachin.  Some  savage  unknown,  though  I  strongly  suspect 
my  beautiful  chiriclis,  has  bitten  off  the  bill  of  the  prettiest  paroquet. 
There  was  a  desperate  battle  between  the  friar  and  the  chiriclis,  in  which 
one  lost  fur  and  the  other  feathers ;  and  symptoms  of  warfare  between 
a  wild  pig,  called  Huangana,  and  a  Coati,  or  Mexican  mongoose.  The 
latter,  however,  fierce  as  he  generally  is,  could  not  stand  the  gnash  of 
the  wild  boar's  teeth,  and  prudently  "  fled  the  fight."  The  life  of  the 
fowls  is  a  state  of  continued  strife ;  and  nothing  has  kept  the  peace 
except  an  affectionate  and  delicate  Pinshi  monkey,  (Humboldt's  Midas 
Leonina,).  that  sleeps  upon  my  beard,  and  hunts  game  in  mymous- 
tachios. 

We  spoke  two  canoes  that  had  come  from  near  Quito  by  the  Napo, 
and  were  bound  to  Tarapoto.  This  party  embarked  upon  the  Napo 
on  the  3d  of  October.  They  told  me  that  I  could  reach  the  mouth  of 
the  river  Coca,  which  empties  into  the  Napo,  in  two  and  a  half  months 
from  the  mouth  ;  but  could  go  no  further  in  my  boat  for  want  of  water. 
There  are  very  few  christianized  towns  upon  the  Napo,  and  the  rowers 
of  these  boats  were  a  more  savage  looking  set  than  I  had  seen.  I  have 
met  with  a  good  many  imiabitauts  of  Quito  in  the  Missions  of  the 
Huallaga ;  and  very  mariy  of  the  inhabitants  ai'e  descendants  of  Quiteiios. 
In  fact, -these  Missions  were  formerly  under  the  charge  and  direction  of 
the  Bishopric  of  Quito,  and  most  of  the  Jesuits  who  first  attempted  the 
conversion  of  these  Indians  came  fiom  that  quartef.  There  is  a  report 
now  current  in  these  parts  that  thirty  Jesuits  receutly  banished  from 
New  Granada  have  gone  to  Ecuador  ;  have  been  well  i^eceived  at  Quito, 
and  have  asked  for  the  ancient  Missions  of  the  company,  which  has 
been  conceded  to  them  as  far  as  Ecujidor  has  jurisdiction.  This* party 
from  the  N^po  also  reported  that  the  governor  (.Gefe  Politico)  of  the 
Ecuador  territory  of  the  Napo  had  left  his  place  of  residence  and  gone 
up  the  river  for  the  purpose  of  supplying  with  laborers  a  French  mining 
company,  that  had  recently  arrived  and  was  about  to  commence  opera- 
tions. It  is  generally  thought  that  much  gold  is  mixed  with  the  sands 
of  the  Napo  ;  but  I  think  that  the  Moyobambinos  would  have  it  if  it 
were  there.  They  get  a  quill  full  of  gold  dust,  now  and  then,  from  the 
Indians;  but  no  regularly  organized  expedition  for  collecting  it  has 
been  successful.  It  is  said  that  the  Indians  of  the  Napo  formerly  paid 
their  contributions  to  the  government  in  gold  dust,  but  now  that  they 
are  relieved  (as  are  all  the  Missions  by  express  exception)  from  the 
burden  of  the  contribution,  there  is  no  more  gold  collected. 

The  inhabitants  of  the  Missions  of  Mainas  ai-e  exempted,  by  special 


216  IQUITOS. 

legislation,  from  the  payment  of  the  contribution  of  seven  dollars  per 
head,  paid  towards  the  support  of  the  government  by  all  the  other  In- 
dians of  Peru.  This  exception  was  made  on  the  ground  that  these 
people  had  the  forest  to  subdue,  and  were  only  able  to  wring  a  hard- 
earned  support  from  the  cultivation  of  the  land.  Many  persons  belong- 
ing to  the  province  think  that  this  was  an  unwise  law,  and  that  the 
character  of  the  Indian  has  deteriorated  since  its  passage.  Tliey  think 
that  some  law  compelling  them  to  work  would  be  beneficial  to  both 
country  and  inhabitants. 

Fearful  of  going  to  the  right  of  Iquitos  island,  and  thus  passing  the 
town,  I  passed  to  the  left  of  some  islands,  which  Smyth  lays  down  on 
his  chart  as  small,  but  which  are  at  this  season  large;  and  in  running 
between  the  one  just  above  Iquitos  island  and  the  left  bank  of  the  river, 
the  boat  grounded  near  the  middle  of  the  passage,  which  was  one  hun- 
dred and  fifty  yards  broad,  and  came  near  rolling  over  from  the  velocity 
of  the  current.  We  hauled  over  to  the  left  bank  and  passed  close  along 
it  in  forty  two  feet  water.     At  half  past  9  p.  m.  we  arrived  at  Iquitos. 

November  7. — Iquitos  is  a  fishing  village  of  two  hundred  and  twenty- 
seven  inhabitants ;  a  considerable  part  of  them,  to  the  number  of  ninety- 
eight,  being  whites  and  Mestizos  of  San  Borja,  and  other  settlements  of 
the  upper  Mission,  who  were  driven'  from  tliyr  homes  a  few  yeai-s  ago 
by  the  Iliiambisas  of  the  Pastaza  and  Santiago.  This  occurred  in  1841. 
In  1843,  these  same  Indians  murdered  all  tlie  inhabitants  of  a  village 
called  Sta.  Teresa,  situated  on  the  upper  Maraiion,  between  the  mouths 
of  the  rivers  Santiago  and  Morona.  My  companion  Ijurra  was  there 
soon  aftfer  the  occurrence.  He  gave  the  dead  bodies  burial,  and  pub- 
lished in  his  Travels  in  Mainas  a  detailed  account  of  the  aflair. 

In  October,  1843,  Ijurra,  with  seventeen  other  young  men  of  Moyo- 
bamba,  formed  a  company  for  the  purpose  of  washing  for  gold  the  sands 
of  the  Santiago ;  they  were  furnished  with  arms  by  the  prefecture,  and 
recruit(!d  sixty-six  Cocamillas  of  Laguna,  armed  with  bows  and  arrows, 
as  a  light  protecting  force.  They  also  engaged  eighty-five  of  the  In- 
dians of  Jeveros  as  laborers  at  the  washings;  and,  after  they  started, 
were  joined  by  four  hundred  and  fifty  of  the  people  who  had  been  ex- 
pelled in  1841  from  Santiago  and  Borja,  desirous  of  recovering  their 
homes  and  taking  vengeance  of  the  savage.s. 

The  j)arty  went  by  land  from  Moyobamba  to  Balza  Puerto ;  tlience 
north  to  Jeveros ;  and  thence  to  the  port  of  Barranca,  at  the  mouth  of  the 
river  C'ahuopand.i,  when  thev  oml)arki'd  to  a.scend  the  Amazon  to  the 
mouth  of  the  Santiago.  At  l^arranca  they  received  iiitel'.igonco  of  the 
massacre  at  Sta.  Teresa,  with  the  details. 


MASSACRE    AT    STA.    TERESA.  217 

A  Moyobambino,  Canuto  Acosta,  fearing  that  the  company  would 
get  all  the  gold,  and  that  he  should  not  be  able  to  collect  a  little  that 
was  due  him  by  the  people  about  Sta.  Teresa,  hastened  on  before.  He 
met  at  Sta.  Teresa  with  a  large  party  of  Huambisas,  who  had  come 
down  the  Santiago  for  the  ostensible  purpose  of  trade.  Couvert^ing  with 
the  curaca  of  the  tribe,  named  Arabuscha,  Acosta  told  him  that  a  mul- 
titude of  Christians  were  coming  with  arms  in  their  hands  to  conquer 
and  enslave  his  people.  The  curaca,  turning  the  conversation,  asked 
Acosta  what  he  had  in  his  packages.  The  reply  was  more  foolish  and 
wicked  than  the  other  speech ;  for,  desirous  to  play  upon  the  credulity 
of  the  Indian,  or  to  overawe  him,  he  said  that  he  had  in  his  packages  a 
great  many  epidemic  diseases,  with  which  he  could  kill  the  whole  tribe 
of  the  Huambisas.  It  was  his  death  warrant.  The  curaca  plunged  his 
spear  into  his  body,  and  giving  a  shrill  whistle,  his  people,  who  wefe  scat- 
tered about  among  the  houses,  commenced  the  massacre.  They  killed 
forty-seven  men,  and  carried  off  sixty  women  ;  some  few  persons  escaped 
into  the  woods.  The  Indians  spared  two  boys — one  of  seven  and  one  of 
nine  years — and  set  them  adrift  upon  the  Amazon  on  a  raft,  with  a  mes- 
sage to  the  gold-hunting  company  that  they  knew  of  their  approach, 
and  were  ready,  with  the  assistance  of  their  friends,  the  Paturos  and 
Chinganos,  to  meet  and  dispute  with  them  the  possession  of  the  cobntry. 
The  raft  was  seen  floating  past  Barranca  and  brought  in. 

The  gold-seekers  found  no  gold  upon  the  borders  of  the  Maraiion ; 
quarrelled;  became  afraid  of  the  savages;  broke  up  and  abandoned 
their  purpose  before  they  reached  the  mouth  of  the  Santiago. 

Ijurra  and  a  few  others  then  turned  their  attention  to  the  collection 
of  Peruvian  bark.  They  spent  two  or  three  years  in  the  woods,  about 
the  mouth  of  the,  Huallaga  ;  gathered  an  enormous  quantity,  and  fixated 
it  down  to  Para  on  immense  rafts,  that  Tiurra  describes  as  floatinsr- 
Louses,  with  all  the  comforts  and  conveniences  of  the  house  on  shore. 

When  they  arrived  at  Para  the  cargo  was  examined  by  chymists ; 
said  by  them  to  be  good ;  and  a  mercantile  house  offered  eighty  thou- 
sand dollars  for  it.  They  refused  the  offer  ;  chartered  a  vessel,  and  took 
the  cargo  to  Liverpool,  where  the  chymist  pronounced  the  fruit  of  years 
of  labor  to  be  utterly  worthless. 

The  village  of  Iquitos  is  situated  on  an  elevated  plain,  which  is  said 
to  extend  far  back  from  the  shores  of  the  river.  This  is  different  from 
the  situation  of  many  towns  upon  the  Amazon,  most  of  which  are  built 
t^pon  a  hill,  with  a  low,  swampy  country  behind  them.  There  are  cotton 
and  coffee-trees  growing  in  the  streets  of  the  village,  but  no  attention  is 
paid  to  the  cultivation  of  either.     A  small  stream,  said  to  be  one  of  the 


218  THE    RIVER. 

mouths  of  the  river  Nanay,  enters  the  Amazon  just  above  the  town. 
The  main  mouth  of  the  Nauay  is  five  miles  below ;  it  is  said  to  commu- 
nicate, back  of  the  plain,  with  the  Tigre  Yacu,  which  empties  into  the 
Maranon  above  San  Regis ;  and  branches  of  it,  which  run  to  the  north- 
ward and  eastward,  inosculate  with  the  Napo. 

We  left  Iquitos  at  half  past  9  a.  m.  The  shores  of  the  river  just 
below  are  bold,  and  of  white  clay ;  at  a  quarter  to  eleven  .we  passed  the 
mouth  of  the  Nanay,  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  broad.  The 
depth  of  the  A^iazon  at  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  is  fifty  feet ;  the 
current  a  mile  and  two-thirds  the  hour.  After  passing  several  small 
islands,  where  the  river  appeared  two  miles  wide,  it  seemed  to  contract 
within  its  own  banks  to  half  a  mile,  immediately  in  front  of  a  settlement 
of  two  or  three  houses,  called  Tinicuro,  where  I  found  no  bottom,  at  one 
hundl-ed  and  eighty  feet ;  at  half-past  five  we  arrived  at  Pucallpa,  where 
we  passed  the  night. 

November  8. — Pucallpa,  or  New  Oran,  is  a  small  settlement,  of  twenty 
houses,  and  one  hundred  and  eleven  inhabitants,  who  formerly  belonged 
to  Oran,  but  who,  finding  their  situation  uncomfortable,  removed  and 
settled  here.  It  is  one  of  the  most  pleasantly-situated  places  I  have 
seen — on  a  moderate  eminence,  with  green^anks.  shelving  to  the  river. 
The  water  is  bold  (twenty-five  to  .thirty  feet  deep)  close  to  the  shore. 
Two  islands — one  above  and  one  below  the  town,  with  a  narrow  opening 
in  front — gave  the  place  the  appearance  of  a  snug  little  harbor. 

We  bought  at  this  place  two  of  the  great  cranes  of  the  river,  called 
Tuyuyii.  These  were  gray.  A  pair  that  I  succeeded  in  getting  to  the 
United  States  were  white.  Started  at  4  a.  m. ;  high  white  chalky  banks 
just  below  Pucallpa.  At  nine  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Napo ;  we 
found  it  two  hundred  yards  broad,  and  of  a  gentle  current.  The  sound- 
ings across  the  mouth  were  thirty-five  and  forty  feet ;  stopped  at  Choro- 
coctia,  a  settlement  of  eighteen  inhabitants,  just  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Napo.  We  found  some  of  our  Nauta  friends  here  salting  fish,  and  got 
a  capital  breakfast  from  them.  After  leaving,  we  anchored  near  the 
head  of  a  small  island,  where  I  supposed  we  would  feel  the  eflect  of  the 
current  of  the  Napo  ;  but  had  but  a  mile  and  two-thirds  current. 

November  9. — We  started  at  5,  and  arrived  at  Pebas  at  10  a.  m. 
We  found  that  tbe  people  of  Pebas,  under  the  direction  of  Father 
Vallivia,  (my  Nauta  friend,)  were  establishing  a  new  town  about  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  up  a  stream  called  Ambiyacu,  which  •enters  into  the 
Amazon  two  miles  above  Pebas.  -We  pulled  up  this  stream,  and  fo\^id 
the  good  priest  and  the  governor  general  busy  in  directing  the  felling 
of  trees  and  building  of  houses.     I  determined  to  stay  here  for  some 


PEBAS.  219 

time,  for  I  was  now  getting  so  weak  that  I  coukl  scarcely  climb  tlie 
banks  upon  which  the  towns  are  situated.  Father  Valdivia  received  us 
with  great  cordiality,  and  gave  us  quarters  in  a  new  house  he  was  build- 
ing for  himself. 

The  new  settlement  had  not  yet  a  name ;  Ijurra  washed  it  called 
Echenique,  after  the  new  president ;  while  I  insisted  on  "  Ambiyacu,"  as 
being  Indian  and  sonorous.  The  population  already  numbered  three 
hundred  and  twenty-eight — almost  all  the  people  of  Pebas  having  come 
over.  The  inhabitants  are  principally  Oreyo???*,  or  Big-Ears,  from  the' 
custom  of  introducing  a  bit  of  wood  into  a  slit  in  the  ear  and  gradually 
increasing  the  size  of  it  until  the  lobe  hangs  upon  the  shoulder.  They 
have,  however,  now  discontinued  the  custom,  and  I  saw  only  a  few  old 
people  thus  deformed. 

They  are  fishermen,  and  serve  as  peons ;  but  their  condition  seems 
better  than  that  of  the  inhabitants  of  the  other  towns  on  the  river, 
■which  is  doubtless  owing  to  the  presence  and  exertions  of  the  good 

•  priest,  who  is  very  active  and  intelligent. 

Visited  Pebas  in  the  afternoon.  We  found  it  nearly  abandoned  and 
overgrown  with  grass  and  weeds.  We  saw  some  cattle  roving  about 
among  the  houses,  which  were  fat,  and  otherwise  in  good  condition. 
The  town  is  situated  immediately  on  the  banks  of  the  river,  which  is 
here  unbroken  by  islands,  three-quarters  of  a  mile  broad,  and  apparently 
deep  and  rapid.  We  carried  over  to  the  new  town  specimens  of  black 
clay  slate  that  crops  out  in  narrow  veins  on  the  banks,  and  made  a  fii-ei 
of  it,  which  burned  all  night,  with  a  strong  bituminous  smell. 

November  10. — T  gave  Arebalo  the  message  sent  him  by  Padre 
Calvo,  which  was  a  request  that  he  would  send  the  Sarayacu  men  back 
in  the  larger  canoe  that  we  had  brought  down  for  that  purpose.  He, 
however,  was  careless  in  the  matter,  and  two  of  them  went  up  the . 
river  with  a  trader,  and  one  down.  The  others  started  back  in  the 
canoe;  but  much  to  my  surprise,  and  even  regret,  I  found  in  the 
evening  that  they  had  returned,  turned  over  their  canoe,  sold  their  pots 

.and  other  utensils  to  Arebalo,  and  expressed' their  determination  to  go 
down  the  stream.  They  said  that  if  I  would  not  take  them  they  would 
go  with  anybody  that  would.  I  of  course  was  glad  to  have  them,  and 
I  quieted  my  conscience  in  thus  robbing  Father  Calvo  by  the  reflection 
that  if  they  went  with  me  to  the  end  of  my  voyage,  I  could  give  them 
my  boat  and  fit  them  out  for  the  return ;  whereas,  if  they  separated, 
they  might  never  go  back.  I  think  tliat  Arebalo  winked  at  their  con- 
duct in  returning,  because  he  and  the  padre  were  busy  with  their  new 
town,  and  did  not  wish  to  furnish  me  with  men  of  their  own. 


220  SAN   JOSE    DE    LOS  YAGUAS. 

think  we  are  all  culpable.  The  peons  were  culpable  for  not  going  back; 
I  was  culpable  for  taking  them  further ;  and  Arebalo  was  culpable  for 
permitting  it ;  and  thus  it  is  that  the  population  of  Sarayacu  dimihishes, 
and  the  friars  are  cheated  out  of  the  hard  earned  fruits  of  tlieir  labor. 

November  15. — Ijurra  and  I  went  with  thii  padre  to  visit  his  mission 
of  San  Jose  of  the  Yaguas.  This  is  a  settlement  of  Yaguas  Indians, 
of  two  hundred  and  sixty  inhabitants,  about  ten  miles  in  a  N.  E.  direc- 
tion from  Ambiyacu,  or  (as  I  find  by  a  letter  received  from  Ijurra  since 
my  return  hoirte)  from  Echenique. 

San  Jose  is  reached  by  a  path  through  the  woods  over  a  rather 
broken  country.  There  .were  two  or  three  rivulets  to  pass  on  the  road, 
■which  have  pebbly  beds,  with  black  slate  rock  cropping  out  of  the  sides 
of  the  ravine — the  first  stones  1  have  seen  since  leaving  the  Pongo  of 
Chasuta.  The  sojl  is  dark  clay,  and  deeper  than  I  have  seen  it  else- 
where on  the  river.  Birds  of  a  brilliant  plumage  occasionally  flitted 
across  our  path,  and  the  woods  were  fragrant  with  aromatic  odors. 

The  Yaguas  received  their  priest  in  procession,  with  ringing  of  the 
church  bell  and  music  of  drums.  They  conducted  him,  under  little 
arches  of  palm  branches  stuck  in  the  path,  to  the  convento,  and  politely 
left  us  to  rest  after  the  fatigue  of  the  walk.  These  are  the  most 
thorough-looking  savages  in  their  general  appearance  and  costume, 
though  without  anything  savage  in  the  expression  of  their  counte- 
nances, which  is  vacant  and  stupid.  Their  ordinary  dress  consists  of 
a  girdle  of  bark  around  the  loins,  with  a  bunch  of  fibres  of  anotiier  kind 
of  bark,  looking  like  a  swab  or  mop,  about  a  foot,  in  length,  hanging 
down  from  the  girdle  in  front  and  rear.  Similar,  but  smaller  bunches, 
are  hung  around  the  neck  and  arms  by  a  collar  and  bracelets  of  small 
b«ads.  This  is  the  every-day  costurii6.  On  festivals  they  .stain  all  their 
bodies  a  light  brown,  and  on  this  ground  they  execute  fantastic  devices 
in  red  and  blue.  Long  tail-feathers  of  the  macaw  are  stuck  in  the 
armlets,  reaching  above  the  shoulders,  and  a  chaplet,  made  of  white 
feathers  from  the  wingfl  of  a  smaller  bird,  is  worn  around  the  head. 
This  generally  completes  the  costume,  though  I  did  sec  one  dandy  who 
had  stuck  short  white  feathers  all  over  his  face,  leaving  only  the  eyes, 
nose,  and  mouth  exposed. 

The  curaca,  and  some  one  or  two  of  the  Vai'ayos,  wore  frocks  and 
trousers ;  but  I  was  told  they  had  the  national  costume  underneath 
these.  The  dress  of  the  women  is  a  yard  or  two  of  cotton  cloth  rolled 
around  the  hips.  Thoy  are  strong  people  for  drinking  and  dancing,  and 
hate  work. 


THE  YAGUAS.  221 

Their  bouses  are  peculiar.  Very  long,  slender  poles  are  stuck  in  the 
■  ground  opposite  each  other,  and  about  thirty  feet  apart ;  their  ends  are 
brought  together  at  the  top,  forming  a  Gothic  arch  about  twenty  feet 
high.  Similar  poles,  of  different  lengths,  are  planted  in  front  of  the 
openings  of  the  arch,  and  their  ends  are  brought  down  and  lashed  to 
the  top  and  sides  of  the  openings.  They  are  secured  by  cross-poles,  inside 
and  out,  and  the  whole  is  thickly  thatched  to  the  ground,  leaving  two 
or  three  apertures  for  entrance.  The  house  looks,  on  the  outside,  like 
a  gigantic  bee-hive.  On  the  inside,  small  cabins  of  cane  are  built 
at  intervals  around  the  walls,  each  one  of  which  is  the  sleeping-room 
of  a  family.  Four  or  five  families  generally  occupy  one  house,  and  the 
middle  space  is  used  in  common.  This  is  never  cleaned,  nor  even 
levelled,  and  is  littered  with  all  manner  of  abominations.  There  is  a , 
puddle  of  water  before  each  door ;  for,  from  the  construction  of  the 
house,  the  rain,  both  from  the  heavens  and  the  roof,  pours  directly 
into  it. 

After  evening  service,  the  Indians  went  off  to  their  houses  to  com- 
mence the  festival.  They  kept  the  drums  going  all  night,  and  until  10 
o'clock  next  morning,  when  they  came  in  a  body  to  conduct  us  to  mass. 
Most  of  them  were  the  worse  for  their  night's  debauch,  and  sat  upon 
the  ground  in  a  listless  and  stupid  manner ;  occasionally  talking  and 
laughing  with  each  other,  and  little  edified,  I  fear,  by  the  sacred, eere- 
mony. 

I  was  annoyed  at  the  poverty  of  the  church,  and  determined,  if  lever 
went  back,  that  I  would  appeal  to  the  Roman  Catholics  of  the  United 
States  for  donations.  The  priestly  vestments  were  in  rags.  The  lava- 
tory was  a  gourd,  a  little  earthern  pitcher,  and  a  jack  towel  of  cotton; 
and  it  grieved  me  to  see  the  host  taken  from  a  shaving  box,  and  the 
sanctified  wine  poured  from  a  vinegar  cruet. 

After  mass,  and  a  procession,  the  Indians  went  back  with  us  to  the 
convento,  and  entertained  us  with  music  whilst  we  breakfasted.  It  was 
well  that  the  dr^ms  were  small,  or  we  should  have  been  fairly  deafened. 
There  were  six  of  them,  and  they  were  beaten  without  intermission.^ 
One  fellow  dropt  to  sleep,  but  we  gained  nothing  by  this,  for  his  neigh- 
bor beat  his  drum  for  him.  Nearly  the  whole  male  population  were 
crowded  into  the  convento.  The  bi'takfast  was  furnished  by  the 
Indians  ;  each  family  contributing  a  dish.  The  old  women  were  proud 
of  their  dishes,  and  seemed  gratified  when  we  partook  of,  and  com- 
mended them.     They  continued  their  frolic  all  day  and  night. 

On  Monday  we  visited  the  houses  of  the  Indians  to  see  what  curiosi- 
ties we  could  get.     We  found  the  men  stretched  in  their  hammocks, 


222  THE  YAGUAS. 

sleeping  off  the  effects  of  tlie  masato ;  and  the  patient,  much-enduring 
■women  at  work  twisting  chanibira  for  hammocks,  or  preparing  yuccas 
or  plantains  to  make  drink  for  their  lords.  We  could  get  nothing 
except  a  hammock  or  two,  and  some  twisted  chanibira  to  make  me  a 
lead  line.  The  Indians  had  hidden  their  hammocks;  and  we  had  to 
go  poking  about  with  our  sticks,  and  searching  in  corners  for  them. 
The  reason  of  this  was  that  most  of  them  owe  the  padre;  and  this  pay- 
ing of  debts  seems  as  distasteful  to  the  savage  man  as  to  the  civilized. 

Tlie  only  article  of  manufacture  is  a  coarse  hammock,  made  of  the 
fibres  of  the  budding  top  of  a  species  of  palm,  called  cLambira  in  Peru, 
and  tucum  in  Brazil.  The  tree  is  very  hard,  and  is  defended  with  long 
sharp  thorns,  so  that  it  is  a  labor  of  a  day  to  cut  a  "Cogollo,"  or  top  ; 
split  the  leaves  into  strips  of  conv«iient  breadth ;  -and  strip  off  the  tibres, 
which  are  the  outer  covering  of  the  leaves,  and  which  is  done  very  dex- 
terously with  the  finger  and  thumb.  A  "top"  of  ordinary  size  yields 
about  half  a  pound  of  tibres ;  and  when  it  is  reflected  that  these  fibres 
have  to  be  twist?ed,  a  portion  of  them  dyed,  and  then  woven  into  ham- 
mocks of  three  or  lour  pounds  weight,  it  Avill  be  seen  that  the -Indian 
is  very  poorly  paid  for  his  labor  when  he  receives  for  a  hammock 
twelve  and  a  half  cents  in  silver,  or  twenty-five  cents  in  efcctos. 

The  women  twist  the  thread  with  great  dexterity.  They  sit  on  the 
griJund,  and,  taking  two  threads,  which  consist  of  a  number  of  minute 
fibres,  between  the  finger  and  thumb  of  the  left  hand,  they  lay  them, 
separated  a  little,  on  the  right  thigh.  A  roll  of  them  down  the  thigh, 
under  the  right  hand,  twists  each  thread ;  when,  with  a  scarcely  per- 
ceptible motion  of  the  hand,  she  brings  the  two  together,  and  a  roll  up 
the  thigh  makes  the  cord.  A  woman  will  twist  fifty  fathoms  about 
the  size  of  a  common  twine  in  a  day. 

The  Indians  brought  me  some  few  birds;  but  they  were  too  drunken 
artd  lazy  to  go  out  into  the  forest  to  hunt  rare  birds,  and  only  brought 
me  those  that  they  could  shoot  about  their  houses. 

The  climate  of  San  Jos6  is  very  agreeable.  It  8eeq|s  drier  and  more 
salubrious  than  that  of  Pebas ;  and  there  are  fewer  musquitoes.  The 
atmosphere  was  very  clear  for  the  two  nights  I  spent  there  ;  and  I 
thought  I  could  see  the  smaller  stars  with  more  dislinctnt  ss  than  I  had 
seen  them  for  a  long  time. 

The  history  of  the  settlement  of  this  place  is  ronKirkable,  as  showing 
the  attmhment  of  the  Indians  to  their  pastor  and  their  church. 

Some  years  ago,  Padre  "Juso  do  la  Kosa  Alva"  had  established  a 
mission  at  a  settlement  of  the  Yaguas,  about  two  days' journey  to  the 
northward  and  eastward  of  the  present  station,  which  he  called  Sta. 


RELIGIOUS    TEACHING.  223 

Maria,  and  where  he  generally  resided.  Business  took  him  to  Pebas, 
and  unexp(^tedly  detained  him  there  for  fifteen  days.  The  Indians, 
finding  he  did  not  return,  reasoned  with  themselves  and  said,  "Our 
father  has  left  us;  let  us  go  to  him."  Whereupon  they  gathered  together 
the  personal  property  the  priest  had  left ;  shouldered  the  church  uten- 
sils and  furniture,  even  to  the  doors ;  set  fire  to  their  houses,  and  joined 
the  padre  in  Pebas.  He  directed  them  to  the  present  station,  where 
they  builded  houses  and  established  themselves. 

Our  little  padre  has  also  considerable  influence  over  them ;  though, 
when  he  will  not  accede  to  all  their  demands,  they  contrast  his  couduct 
with  that  of  Father  Rosa ;  call  him  mean,  get  sulky,  and  won't  go  to 
mass. 

It  is  sad  to  see  the  condition  of  the  Peruvian  Indians.  (That  of  the  ■ 
Indians  of  Brazil  is  worse.)  They  make  no  progress  in  civilization,  and 
they  are  taught  nothing.  The  generally  good,  hard-working,  and  well- 
meaning  padres,  who  alone  attempt  anything  like  improvement,  seem 
contented  to  teach  them  obedience  to  the  church,  observance  of  its 
ceremonies,  and  to  repeat  the  "doctrina"  like  a  parrot,  without  havino- 
the  least  idea  of  what  is  meant  to  be  conveyed.  The  priests,  however, 
say  that  the  fault  is  in  the  Indian — that  he  cannot  understand.  Padre 
Lorente,  of  Tierra  Blanc^  thought  he  had  his  flock  a  little  advanced, 
and  that  now  he  might  make  some  slight  appeal  to  their  understanding. 
He  accordingly  gathered  them  together,  and  exhibiting  a  little  plaster 
image  of  the  Virgin  that  they  had  not  yet  seen,  he  endeavored  to  explain 
to  them  that  this 'figure  represented  the  Mother  of  God,  whom  he  had 
taught  them  to  worship  and  pray  to;  that  She  was  the  most  exalted  of 
human  beings ;  and  that  through  Her  intercession  with  Her  Son,  the 
sins  and  crimes  of  men  might  be  foigiven,  &c.  •  The  Indians  paid  great 
s^tteniion,  passing  the  image  from  hand  to  hand,  and  the  good  father 
thought  that  he  was  making  an  impression ;  but  an  unlucky  expression 
of  one  of  them  showed  that  their  attention  was  entirely  occupied  with 
the  image,  and  that  the  lesson  was  lost  upon  them.  He  stopped  the 
priest  in  his  discourse,  to  know  if  the  imagewere  a  man  or  a  woman. 
The  friar  gave  it  up  in  despair,  and  fell  "back  upon  the  sense-striking 
ceremonial  of  the  church,  which  I  tliink  (humanly  speaking)  is  far 
better  calculated  to  win  them  to  respect  and  obedience,  and  thus  advance 
them  in  civilization,  than  any  other  system  of  religious  teaching. 

The  mind  of  the  Indian  is  exactly  like  that  of  the  infant,  and  it  must 
grow  rather  by  example  than  by  precept.  I  think  that  good  example, 
with  a  wholesome  degree  of  discipline,  might  do  much  with  this  docile 
people ;  though  there  are  not  wanting  intelligent  men,  well  acquainted 


224  ECHENIQUE. 

with  their  character,  who  scruple  not  to  say  that  the  best  use  to  which  ■ 
an  Indian  can  be  put  is  to  hang  hira ;  that  he  makes  a  b;ii  citizen  and 
a  worse  slave ;  and  (to  use  a  homely  phrase)  "  that  his  room  i^  more 
worth  than  his  company."  I  myself  believe — and  I  think  the  case  of 
the  Indians  in  my  own  country  bears  me  out  in  the  belief — that  any 
attempt  to  communicate  with  them  ends  in  their  destruction.  They 
cannpt  bear  the  restraints  of  law  or  the  burden  of  sustained  toil ;  and 
they  retreat  from  before  the  face  of  the  white  man,  with  his  improve- 
ments, till  they  disappear.  This  seems  to  be  destiny.  Civilization  must 
advance,  though  it  tread  on  the  neck  of  the  savage,  or  even  trample 
him  out  of  existence. 

.  I  think  that  in  this  case  the  government  of  Peru  should  take  the 
matter  in  hand — that  it  should  draw  up  a  simple  code  of  laws  for  the 
government  of  the  Missions ;  appoint  intelligent  governors  to  the  dis- 
tricts, with  salaries  paid  from  the  treasury  of  the  country;  suppress  the 
smaller  villages,  and  gather  the  Indians  into  fewer ;  appoint  a  governor- 
general  of  high  character,  with  dictatorial  powers  and  large  salary;  tax 
the  inhabitants  for  the  support  of  a  military  force  of  two  thousand  men, 
to  be  placed  at  his  disposal ;  and  throw  open  the  country  to  colonization, 
inducing  people  to  come  by  privileges  and  grants  of  land.  I  am  satisfied 
that  in  this  way,  if  the  Indian  be  not  improved,  he  will  at  least  be  cast 
out,  and  that  this  glorious  country  may  beTnade  to  do  what  it  is  not 
now  doing — that  is,  contribute  its  fair  proportion  to  the  maintenance  of 
the  human  race. 

November  18. — Returned  to  Echonique;  the  w/ilk  occupied  three 
hours  without  stopping.  Although  the  Orejones  have  left  off  some  of 
their  savage  customs,  and  are  becoming  more  civilized,  they  are  still 
sufficiently  barbarous  tci  permit  their  women  to  do  most  of  the  work. 
I  saw  to  day  twenty  of  the  lazy  rascals  loitering  about,  whilst  the  same 
number  of  women  were  fetching  earth  and  water,  trampling  it  into  mud, 
and  plastering  the  walls  of  the  convento  with  it.  I  also  saw  the  women 
cleaning  up  and  carrying  away  the  weeds  and  bushes  of  the  town  ;  most 
of  them,  too,  with  infants  hanging  to  their  backs.  These  marry  very 
young.  I  saw  some,  whom  I  took  to  be  children,  with  babies  that  I  was' 
told  were  their  own.  They  suffer  very  little  in  parturition,  and,  in  a 
few  hours  after  the  birth  of  a  child,  they  bathe,  go  to  the  chacra,  and 
fetch  home  a  load  of  yuccas. 

The  rnu.squitoes  are  very  troublesome  here.  I  write  my  journal  under 
a  musfjuito  curtain ;  and  whilst  I  am  engaged  in  skinning  birds,  it  is 
necessary  to  have  an  Indian  with  a  fan  to  keep  them  oil';  even  this  docs 
not  succeed,  and  my  face  and  hands  are  frequently  quite  bloody,  where 


THE    ANIMALS.  225 

lie  has  to  kill  them  with  his  fingers.  The  Indians  bring  me  a  number 
of  very  beautiful  birds  every  evening,  and  I  have  my  hands  full,  even 
with  the  occasional  assistance  of  Arebalo  and  the  padre's  servant.  I  do 
not  know  if  it  arises  from  the  constant  tugging  at  the  birds'  skins,  or  the 
slovenly  use  of  arsenical  joap,  but  the  blood  gathered  under  nearly  all 
the  nails  of  my  left  hand,  and  they  were  quite  painful. 

We  have  increased  our  stock  of  animals  largely  at  this  place.  They 
now  number  thirteen  monkeys,  a  mongoose,  and  a  wild  pig,  (the  Mexi- 
can peccary,)  with  thirty  one  birds,  and  one  hundred  skins.  I  bought 
a  young  monkey  of  an  Indian  woman  to-day.  It  had  coarse  gray  and 
white  hair ;  and  that  on  the  top  of  its  head  was  stiff,  like  the  quills  of 
tlTe  porcupine,  and  smoothed  down  in  front  as  if  it  had  been  combed. 
I  offered  the  little  fellow  some  plantain  ;  but  finding  he  would  not  eat, 
the  woman  took  him  and  put  him  to  her  breast,  when  he  sucked  away 
manfully  and  with  great  "gusto."  She  weaned  him  in  a  week  so  that 
he  would  eat  plantain  mashed  up  and  put  into  his  mouth  in  small  bits, 
but  the  little  beast  died  of  mortification,  because  I  would  not  let  him 
sleep  with  his  arms  around  my  neck 

I  had  two  little  monkeys  not  so  large  as  rats ;  the  peccary  ate  one, 
and  the  other  died  of  grief.  My  howling  monkey  refused  food,  and 
grunted  himself  to  death.  The  friars  ate  their  own  tails  off,  and  died  of 
the  rot;  the  mongoose,  being  tied  up  on  account  of  eating  the  small 
birds,  literally  cut  out  his  entrails  with  the  string  before  it  was  noticed. 
The  peccary  jumped  overboard  and  swam  ashore ;  the  tuyuyiis  grabbed 
and  swallowed  every  paroquet  that  ventured  within  reach  of  their  bills ; 
and  they  themselves,  being  tied  on  the  beach  at  Eyas,  were  devoured  by 
the  crocodiles.  My  last  monkey  died  as  I  went  up  New  York  bay 
and  I  only  succeeded  in  getting  home  about  a  dozen  mutuns,  or  curas  ■ 
sows ;  a  pair  of  Egyptian  geese ;  a  pair  of  birds,  called  pucacunga  in 
Peru,  and  jacu  in  Brazil ;  a  pair  of  macaws  ;  a  pair  of  parrots  ;  and  a 
pair  of  large  white  cranes,  called  jaburu,  which  are  the  same,  I  believe, 
as  the  birds  called  adjutants  in  India. 

November  24. — Preparing  for  departure.  Our  boat,  which  had  been 
veiy  badly  calked  in  Nauta,  required  re-calking.  The  tow,  or  filling, 
used  is  the  inner  bark  of  a  tree  called  machinajmro,  beaten  and  mashed 
into  fibres.  It  answers  very  well,  and  there  is  great  abundance  in  the 
forest.  Its  cost  is  twelve  and  a  half  cents  the  mantada,  or  as  much  as 
an  Indian  can  carry  in  his  blanket.  An  Indian  can  gather  and  grind 
two  mantadas  in  a  day.  Ten  or  twelve  mantadas  are  required  to  calk 
such  a  boat  as  mine.  The  pitch  of  the  country  is  said  to  be  the  deposit 
of  an  ant  in  the  trees.  I  never  saw  it  in  its  original  state.  It  is  gathered 
15 


226  POWER    OF    THE    PRIEST. 

by  the  Indians ;  heated  till  soft ;  made  into  the  shape  of  wide,  thin  bricks }> 
and  is  worth  sixty-two  and  a  half  cents  the  arroba.  It  is  very  indiffer- 
ent.    A  better  kind  is  made  by  mixing  black  wax  with  gum  copal. 

Father  Valdivia  entertained  us  most  kindly.  His  aguadieute  gave 
out ;  and  he  occasionally  regaled  us  with  a  glass  of  wine,  bought  for  the 
church  in  Loreto.  It  is  a  weak  white  wiu(^  I  suppose  I  could  not 
drink  it  at  home,  but  here  it  seems  very  good.  I  find  that  this  is  the 
case  with  a  great  many  things.  The  green  plantains,  roasted,  which 
were  at  first  an  abomination  to  me,  have  now  become  a  very  good  substi- 
tute for  bread ;  and  a  roasted  yucca  is  quite  a  treat.  We  have  some 
small  red-headed  pan  fish  that  are  very  fine ;  and,  at  ray  suggestion,  the 
padre  had  two  or  three  fried,  added  to  his  usual  evening  cup  of  choco- 
late. I  look  forward  to  this  meal  with  considerable  pleasure.  I  do 
not  know  if  it  arises  from  the  fact  of  our  seeing  so  few  things  that  are 
good  to  eat,  or  from  the  freshness  of  the  cocoa,  but  chocolate,  which  I 
could  not  touch  before  this,  is  noV  very  palatable  and  refreshing.  The 
bean  is  simply  toasted  and  pulverized,  and  the  chocolate  is  made  nearly 
as  we  make  coffee. 

After  supper,  we — that  is,  the  pa^lre,  the  governor  general,  Tjurra,  and 
I,  provided  with  fans  to  keep  off  the  rausquitoes — light  our  cigai-s,  stretch 
ourselves  at  full  length  in  a  hammock,  and  pass  an  hour  before  bed-time 
in  agreeable  conversation.  The  priest,  in  this  country,  has  more  power, 
though  it  is  by  force  of  opinion,  than  the  governor  of  the  distncts,  or 
even  than  the  governor  general.  I  saw  an  instance  in  Nauta,  where 
a  man  withstood  Arebalo  to  his  face,  but  yielded  without  a  struggle, 
though  growlingly,  to  the  mandate  of  the  padre.  In  fact.  Father  Val- 
divia, though  half  Indian,  and  exceedingly  simple-minded,  is  a  very 
resolute  and  energetic  person.  On  one  occasion  the  governor  of  Pebas 
succeeded  in  carrying  off  the  Indians  of  that  village  to  the  Napo  to 
gather  sarza,  against  the  wish  of  the  padre,  who  wanted  them  to  clear 
the  forest  and  build  the  new  town.  When  the  governor  retunied,  the 
priest  told  him  that  they  two  could  not  live  together ;  that  one  or  the 
other  must  resign  his  oflico  and  go  away;  and  the  man,  knowing  the 
power  and  iiilluence  of  the  priest,  retired  from  the  contest  and  his  post. 
The  padre  had  great  opposition  and  trouble  in  forming  his  new  settle- 
ment. Even  the  women  (wives  of  the  wliite  men)  of  I'ebas  came  over 
to  laugh  at  and  ridicule  his  work ;  but  the  good  father  called  his  Vara- 
yos,  had  the  ladies  conducted  to  tlieir  canoes,  and,  with  nmch  ceremo- 
nious politeness,  directed  them  to  be  slioved  off. 

We  obtained  from  the  Indians  more  of  the  poisonous  milk  of  the 
catao,  and  also  the  milk  of  the  cow-tree.     This  they  drink  when  fresh ; 


THE  ROMADIZO.  227 

and,  -wlien  brought  to  me  in  a  calabash,  it  bad  a  foamy  appearance,  as 
if  just  drawn  from  the  cow  ;  and  looked  very  rich  and  tempting.  It, 
however,  coagulates  very  soon,  and  becomes  as  hard  and  tenacious  as 
glue.  The  Indians  make  use  of  this  property  of  it  to  eradicate  their 
eyebrows.  This  is  not  so  painful  an  operation  as  it  would  seem ;  for 
the  Indians  have  never  suffered  the  eyebrows  to  grow  and  become 
strong,  and  the  hair  is  only  down,  which  is  easily  plucked  up.  "When 
the  milk  coagulates,  it  expands,  so  that  it  forced  the  glass  stopper  out 
of  the  bottle  I  put  it  in,  though  sealed  with  pitch.  We  also  got  some 
of  the  almonds  of  the  country,  which  I  have  not  seen  elsewhere.  They 
are  about  the  size,  and  have  something  the  appearance,  of  our  common 
black  walnut,  with  a  single  oblong  kernel,  similar  in  taste  to  the  Brazil 
nut. 

November  26. — We  had  much  heavy  rain  for  the  last  day  or  two. 
A  number  of  persons  were  affected  with  catarrh  and  headache.  The 
padre  told  me  that  half  of  the  population  were  ill  of  it,  and  that  this 
always  happens  at  the  commencement  of  the  rains.  The  disease  is 
called  romadizo,  and  is  like  our  influenza.  Ijurra  and  I  were  both 
indisposed  with  rheumatic  pains  in  the  back  of  the  neck  and  shoulders. 
I  don't  wonder  at  this,  for  we  have  slept  all  the  time  in  a  room  just 
plastered  with  mud,  and  so  damp  that,  where  my  bed-clothes  came  in 
contact  with  the  wall,  they  were  quite  wet;  and  the  rain  beat  in  upon 
my  head  and  shoulders  through  an  open  window  nearly  over  head. 
My  boots  are  covered  with  mould  every  morning,  and  the  guns  get  half- 
full  of  water. 

I  g^ve  the  padre's  servant,  who  was  suffering  very  much  from  roma- 
dizo,  filteen  grains  of  Dover's  powder,  (Heaven  knows  if  it  were  proper 
or  not,)  and  also  to  the  padre's  sister,  who  had  been  suffering  for  some 
days  with  painful  diarrhoea,  forty  drops  of  laudanum.  The  old  lady  was 
cured  at  once,  and  said  she  had  never  met  with  so  great  a  reraedio.  I 
left  her  a  phial  of  it,  with  directions  for  its  use ;  telling  her  (at  which 
she  looked  aghast)  that  it  was  a  deadly  poison.  It  is  curious  to  see 
how  entirely  ignorant  the  best-informed  people  out  hero  are  concerning 
the  properties  of  medicines.  Most  of  them  do  not  know  the  names, 
much  less  the  effects,  of  even  such  common  drugs  as  calomel  and 
opium.  I  suspect  this  is  the  case  among  most  Spanish  people,  and 
think  that  Spanish  physicians  have  always  made  a  great  mystery  of  their 
science. 

We  sailed  from  Echenique  at  half-past  1  p.  m.  Father  Valdivia, . 
who  is  musical,  but  chanted  the  mass  in  a  falsetto  that  would  be  veiy 
difficult  to  distinguish,  at  a  little  distance,  from  the  rattling  of  a  tin  pan,, 


228  THE    PRIEST    AND    THE    GOVERNOR. 

commissioned  me  to  bring  him  out  (should  I  ever  return)  a  small  piano 
and  a  French  horn,  which  he  would  pay  for  in  salt  fish  and  sarsaparilla. 
I  cannot  refrain  from  expressing  my  grateful  thanks,  for  much  aitention 
and  much  information,  to  my  friends — the  well-informed  and  gentleman- 
like Arebalo,  and  the  pious,  simple-minded,  single-hearted  little  Indian 
priest  of  Pebas.  "We  arrived  at  Cochiquinas  (twenty-five  miles  distant) 
at  half-past  8  p.  m. 


THE    MARUBOS.  229 


CHAPTER  XII. 

Cochiquinas — Caballo  Cocha — Alligators — Indian  Incantations — Loreto — Taba- 
tinga — River  Yavari — San  Paulo — River  I^a — Tunantins — Making  manteiga — 
River  Jutay — Fonteboa — River  Jurud — River  Japurd. 

Cocliiquinas,  or  New  Cochiquinas,  is  a  miserable  fishing  village  of 
two  hundred  and  forty  inhabitants ;  though  at  this  time  there  did  not 
appear  to  be  forty  in  the  village,  most  of  them  being  absent  fishing  and 
seeking  a  livelihood.  Old  Cochiquinas  is  four  miles  further  down  the 
river,  and  seems  a  far  better  situation  ;  but  the  people  there  were  afraid 
of  the  attacks  of  the  savages  of  the  Yavari,  and  removed  up  to  this 
place. 

The  old  town,  to  which  place  we  dropped  down  to  breakfast,  has  one 
hundred  and  twenty  inhabitants,  of  which  twenty-five  are  white,  and  the 
rest  Indians  of  the  Yavari,  called  Maruhos.  These  are  dressed  with 
even  more  simplicity  than  the  Yaguas,  dispensing  with  the  mop  behind. 
They  have  small,  curly  moustaches  and  beards ;  are  darker  than  the 
other  Indians ;  and  do  nothing  but  hunt  for  their  living. 

The  governor  treated  us  very  civilly,  and  gave  us  a  good  breakfast  of 
soup,  chickens,  rice,  and  eggs,  with  milk  just  taken  from  the  cow. 
What  a  luxury !  I  saw  before  his  door  a  large  canoe  filled  with  un- 
shelled  rice,  of  very  good  quality.  The  governor  told  us  that  rice 
grew  very  well,  and  gave  about  forty-fold  in  five  months.  He  seemed 
a  very  gay  and  good-tempered  young  person,  with  a  fine  family  of  a 
wife  and  eleven  remarkably  handsome  children — some  born  in  lawful 
wedlock,  others  natural — but  all  cared  for  alike,  and  brought  up  to- 
gether. I  had  the  impertinence  to  ask  him  how  he  supported  so  many 
people.  He  said  that  the  forest  and  the  river  yielded  abundantly,  and 
that  he  occasionally  made  an  expedition  to  the  Napo,  and  collected  sar- 
saparilla  enough  to  buy  clothes  and  luxuries  for  his  family  in  Loreto. 
The  Napo,  he  says,  is  very  full  of  sand-banks,  and  that  twenty  days  from 
its  mouth  the  men  have  to  get  overboard  and  drag  the  canoes. 

The  Yavari  may  be  reached  from  this  point  by  land  in  four  days. 
The  banks  of  the  river  at  this  place  are  steep,  and  about  thirty  feet  in 
height  above  the  present  level.  Veins  of  the  same  black  clay  slate  that 
we  saw  at  Pebas,  and  that  burned  with  a  bituminous  smell,  also  crop 
out  of  the  banks  here. 


230  THE    TICUNAS. 

We  sailed  at  noon,  and  arrived  at  Peruate  at  5  p.  m.,  (twenty  miles.) 
The  population  of  this  village  is  one  hundred,  made  up  of  remn?nts  of 
diiiereut  tribes — Ticunas,  and  natives  of  the  towns  of  Barranca,  on  the 
upper  Amazon,  and  Andoas,  on  the  Pastaza.  I  talked  with  an  old 
negro  who  had  been  many  times  up  the  Napo.  He  confirmed  the 
accounts  that  I  had  from  other  people. 

November  28. — From  Peruato  to  Camucheroa  is  thirty  miles.  This 
place  has  only  a*  population  of  four  families,  recently  settled  there,  who 
have  cleared  away  a  small  portion  of  the  forest  and  commenced  their 
plantations  of  yuccas,  maize,  and  rice.  Just  below  Camucheros  we  had 
apparently  all  the  width  of  the  river  in  view — about  a  mile  broad.  I 
was  surprised  to  find,  near  the  middle  of  it,  only  thirty  feet  of  water. 
I  think  a  sand-bank  stretches  out  a  long  way  from  the  left  shore.  The 
velocity  of  the  current  was  two  and  a  quarter  miles  the  hour.  We 
arrived  at  Moromorote  at  a  quarter  past  G  p.  m.,  (distance  fifteen  miles.) 

This  consists  of  one  house  of  Christianized  Indians.  There  is  a  house 
of  Ticunas  a  mile  further  inland.  We  could  hoar  the  sound  of  their 
music,  and  sent  them  word  that  we  wanted  to  buy  animals  and  food 
from  them.  They  came  to  see  us  after  night,  but  were  drunk,  and  had 
nothing  to  sell. 

November  29. — We  passed  to-day  a  number  of  small  islands.  Be- 
tween one  of  them  and  the  right  bank,  where  the  river  was  at  least  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide,  we  saw  many  trees  grounded,  and,  in  what  ap- 
peared the  deepest  part,  found  but  twelve  feet  of  water.  Doubtless  there 
is  more  in  the  other  channels,  and  more  might  possibly  be  found  in  this. 

At  9  a.  ra.,  after  a  journey  of  twenty  miles,  we  entered  the  cano  of 
Caballococha,  (Uorse  lake.)  It  is  abojit  eighty  yards  wide,  and  has 
eighteen  feet  of  depth  in  the  middle.  The  water  is  clear,  and  makes  an 
agreeable  contrast  with  the  muddy  waters  of  the  Amazon ;  but,  there 
being  no  current  in  the  cafio,  the  water  is  supposed  to  be  not  so  good  to 
drink  as  that  of  the  main  river,  which  is  very  good  when  it  is  allowed 
to  settle. 

The  village  is  situated  on  the  cano,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  from  the 
entrance,  and  at  the  same  distance  from  the  lake.  It  contains  two  hun- 
dred and  seventy-fire  inhabitants,  mostly  Ticunas  Itidiaiis.  Those  are 
darker  than  the  generality  of  Indians  of  the  Maranon,  though  not  so 
dark  as  the  Marubos ;  and  they  are  beardless,  which  frees  them  from 
the  negro-look  that  these  last  have.  Their  houses  are  generally  jilastered 
with  mud  inside,  and  are  far  neater-looking,  and  more  comfortable,  than 
the  other  Indian  residences  that  I  have  seen.  This  is,  however,  entirely 
owing  to  the  activity  and  energy  of  the  priest,  Father  Flores,  who  seems 


CABALLO    COCHA.  231 

to  have  them  in  excellent  order.     They  arc  now  building  a  church  for 
him,  which,  when  finished,  will  be  the  finest  iu  the  Montana. 

The  men  are  all  decently  clad  in  frocks  and  trousers ;  and  the  women, 
besides  the  usual  roll  of  cotton  cloth  around  the  loins,  wear  a  short  tunic 
covering  the  breast.  I  think  that  Father  Flores,  though  he  wants  the 
honest  simplicity  and  kindness  of  heart  of  Valdivia,  and  the  noble 
patience,  magnanimity,  and  gentleness  of  dear  Father  Calvo,  is  a 
better  man  for  the  Indians,  and  more  successful  in  their  management, 
than  either  of  the  others.  He  does  not  seem  to  care  about  their  conyng 
to  church;  for  there  was  not  an  Indian  at  mass  Sunday  morning,  (though 
the  padre  did  give  us  a  little  homily  on  the  importance  of  attending 
worship;  but  he  has  them  afraid  of  him,  keeps  them  at  work,  sees  that 
they  keep  themselves  and  houses  clean,  and  the  streets  of  the  village  in 
order ;  and  I  saw  none  of  the  abominable  drinking  and  dancing  with 
which  the  other  Indians  invariably  wind  up  the  Sunday. 

The  town  is  situated  on  quite  an  extensive  plain ;  the  soil  is  of  a  light, 
and  rather  sandy  character,  which,  even  in  the  rainy  season,  quickly 
absorbs  the  water,  and  makes  the  walking  always  agreeable.  This  is 
very  rarely  the  case  with  the  other  villages  of  the  Amazon.  The  cli- 
mate is  said  to  be  very  hot ;  and,  from  the  fact  that  the  village  is  yet 
closely  surrounded  by  the  forest,  which  keeps  ofi"  the  breeze,  I  suspect 
this  is  the  case  in  the  dry  season.     I  did  not  find  it  so  at  this  time. 

It  is  very  dangerous  to  bathe  in  the  caiio,  on  account  of  the  alliga- 
tors. Not  long  before  my  arrival,  a  woman,  bathing  after  night-fall,  in 
company  with  her  husband,  was  seized  and  carried  off  by  one  of  those 
monsters.  She  was  not  even  in  the  caiio,  but  was  sitting  on  the  bank, 
pouring  water  over  her  head  with  a  gourd,  when  the  reptile  crawled  from 
behind  a  log,  where  it  had  been  lying,  and  carried  her  ofi"  in  its  mouth, 
though  struck  several  heavy  blows  with  a  stick  by  the  unfortunate  hus- 
band. The  padre  next  morning  declared  war  upon  the  aUigators,  and 
had  the  Indians  out  with  their  harpoons  and  lances  to  destroy  them. 
They  killed  a  number;  and  they  thought  it  remarkable  that  the  first 
they  killed  should  have  parts  of  the  woman  yet  undigested  in  its  stomach. 
I  think  it  probable  that  a  good  many  alligators  had  a  bite. 

The  lake  is  a  pretty  and  nearly  circular  sheet  of  water  of  two  and  a 
half  miles  in  diameter,  and  is  twenty  feet  deep  in  the  centre.  There  were 
a  great  many  water-fowl  in  it,  but  principally  cranes  and  cormorants. 

Padre  Flores,  as  usual  gave  us  a  room  in  his  house,  and  seats  at  his 
table.  I  admired  a  very  old  looking  silver  spoon  that  he  had  on  the 
table,  and  which  Ijurra  judged  to  be  of  the  date  of  Ferdinand  and  Isa- 
bella, from  the  armed  figures  and  lion's  head  upon  the  handle  ;  where- 


232  INCANTATIONS. 

upon  the  padre,  a\  ith  the  courtesy  that  belongs  to  his  race,  insisted  upon 
my  accepting  it.  I  was  glad  to  have  it  in  my  power  to  acknowledge 
the  civility  by  pressing  upon  the  padre  a  set  of  tumblers  neatly  put  up 
in  a  morocco  case,  which  had  been  given  me  by  R.  E.  Johnson,  first 
lieutenant  of  the  Vandalia. 

After  dark  he  proposed  that  we  should  go  out  and  see  some  of  the 
incantations  of  the  Indians  for  the  cure  of  the  sick.  We  heard  music 
at  a  distance,  and  approached*  a  large  house  whence  it  proceeded,  in 
which  the  padre  said  there  was  almost  always  some  one  sick.  We 
lisfened  at  the  door,  which  was  closed.  There  seemed  to  be  a  number 
of  persons  singing  inside.  I  was  almost  enchanted  myself.  I  never 
heard  such  tones,  and  think  that  even  instrumental  music  could  not  be 
made  to  equal  them.  I  have  frequently  been  astonished  at  the  power 
of  the  Indians  to  mock  animals ;  but  I  had  heard  nothing  like  this  be- 
fore. The  tones  were  so  low,  so  faint,  so  guttural,  and  at  the  same  time 
so  sweet  and  clear,  that  1  could  scarcely  believe  they  came  from  human 
throats ;  and  they  seemed  fitting  sounds  in  which  to  address  spirits  of 
another  world. 

Some  one  appearing  to  approach  the  door,  the  priest  and  I  fled  5 
for,  though  we  were  mean  enough  to  listen  at  a  man's  door,  we  were 
ashamed  to  be  caught  at  it ;  but  hearing  nothing  further  we  returned, 
and  Ijurra,  with  his  usual  audacity,  pushed  open  the  door  and  proposed 
to  enter.  The  noise  we  made  in  opening  the  door  caused  a  hasty  retreat 
of  some  persons,  which  we  could  hear  and  partly  see ;  and  when  we 
entered,  we  found  but  two  Indians — an  old  man  and  a  young  one — sitting 
on  the  floor  by  a  little  heap  of  flaming  copal,  engaged  in  chewing 
tobacco  and  spitting  in  an  earthern  pot  before  them.  The  young  man 
turned  his  face  to  the  wall  with  a  sullen  look,  and  although  the  old  man 
smiled  when  he  w^as  patted  on  the  head  and  desired  to  proceed  with  his 
music,  yet  it  was  with  a  smile  that  had  no  mirth  or  satisfaction  in  it, 
and  that  showed  plainly  that  he  was  annoyed,  and  would  have  expressed 
his  annoyance  had  he  dared. 

The  hut  was  a  large  one,  and  appeared  larger  in  the  gloom.  There 
was  a  light  burning  in  the  farther  end  of  it,  which  looked  to  be  a  mile 
off;  Ijurra  strode  the  distance  and  found  it  to  be  just  twenty-four  paces. 
There  were  a  number  of  hammocks  slung  one  above  the  other  between 
the  posts  that  supported  the  roof,  and  all  seemed  occupied.  In  one 
corner  of  the  house  was  built  a  small  j)artition  of  cane,  in  which  I 
understood  was  confined  a  young  girl,  who  was  probably  looking  at  us 
with  curious  eyes,  but  whom  wo  could  not  see.  I  had  been  told  before 
that  it  was  the  custom  among  most  of  the  Indians  of  the  Montana  to 


THE     CHIRICLIS.  233 

shut  up  a  girl  when  she  entered  into  the  period  of  womanhood,  until 
the  family  could  raise  the  means  for  a  feast,  when  every  body  is  invited; 
all  hands  get  drunk;  and  the  maiden  is  produced  with  much  ceremony, 
and  declared  a  woman  of  the  tribe,    whose  hand  may  be  sought  in 
marriage.     The  confinements  sometimes  last  several  months ;  fo'l-  the 
Indians  do  not  hurry  themselves  in  making  their  preparations,  but  are 
ready  when  the  yuccas  are  gathered,  the  masato  made,  and  there  is  a 
sufficient  quantity  of  dried  monkey  iif  the  house ;  so  that  it  sometimes 
hai)pens,  when  the  poor  girl  is  brought  out  that  she  is  nearly  white.     It 
IS  said  that  she  frequently  conceals  her  situation  from  her  family,  prefer- 
ring  a  sound  beating,  when  time  betrays  her,  to  the  dreary  imprisonment. 
December  1.— I  lost  my  beautiful  and  valued  chiriclis,  which  died  of 
the  cold;  it  was  put  to  bed  as  usual  under  the  wash-basin,  but  the 
basin  was  not  put  under  the  armayari,  its   usual  place,  and  it  rained 
heavily  all  night.     I  was  surprised  at  the  delicacy  of  feeling  shown  by 
my  Indian  boatmen  on  the   occasion;  they  knew   how  much  I  was 
attached  to  the  bird,  and,  instead  of  tossing  the  carcass  overboard,  as 
they  would  have  done  with  that  of  any  other  animal  that  I  had,  one  of 
them  brought  it  into  my  room  before  I  was  awake,  and  laid  it  decently, 
and  with  care,  on  a  table  at  my  bed-side.     I  felt  the  loss  very  sensibly—' 
first,  because  it  was  a  present  from  good  Father  Calvo,  upon  whose  head 
and  shoulder  I  had  so  often  seen  it  perched ;  and,  secondly,  on  account 
of  the  bird  itself.     It  was  beautiful,  gentle,  and  affectionate ;  and  so 
gallant  that  I  called  it  my  Mohawk  chief;  I  have  seen  it  take  the 
food,  unresisted,  out  of  the  mouths  of  the  parrots  and  macaws  many  times 
Its  size,  by  the  mere  reputation  of  its  valor;  and  it  waged  many  a 
desperate  battle  with  the  monkeys.     Its  triumphant  song  when  it  had 
vanquished  an  adversary  was  most  amusing.     It  was  very  pleasant,  as 
the  cool  of  night  came  on,  to  find  it  with  beak  and  claws,  climbing 
up  the  leg  of  my  trousers  until  it  arrived  at  the  opening  of  my  shirt 
.and  to  hear  its  \bvf  note  of  satisfaction  as  it  entered  and  stowed  itself 
snugly  away  in  my  armpit.     It  was  as  sensible  of  caresses,  and  as  jeal- 
ous, as  a  favorite  ;  and  I  could  never  notice  my  little  Pinshi  monkey  in 
Its  sight  that  it  did  not  fly  at  it  and  drive  it  off. 

^  This  bird  is  the  psit  melanocephalus  of  Linneus.  It  is  about  the 
size  of  a  robin;  has  black  legs,  yellow  thighs,  a  spotted  white  breast, 
orange  neck  and  head,  and  a  brilliant  green  back  and  wings.  There  is 
another  species  of  the  same  bird  in  Brazil.  It  is  there  called  "periquito," 
and  difters  from  this  in  having  the  feathers  on  the  top  of  the  head  black, 
so  as  to  have  the  appearance  of  wearing  a  cowl.  Enrique  Antonii,  an 
Italian  resident  at  Barra,  gave  me  one  of  this  species,  which  was  even 


234  LORETO. 

» 

more  docile  and  affectionate  than  the  present  of  Father  Calvo ;  but,  to 
my  infinite  regret,  he  flew  away  from  me  at  Para. 

1  noticed  growing  about  the  houses  of  the  \-illage  a  couple  of  shrubs, 
six  or  eight  feet  high,  called,  respectively,  yanapanga  and  pucapanga. 
From  the  leaves  of  the  first  is  made  a  black  dye,  and  from  those  of  the 
second  a  very  rich  scarlet.  I  surmised  that  a  dye,  like  the  indigo  of 
commerce,  though  of  course  of  ^ifferent  color,  might  be  made  of  these 
leaves ;  and  when  I  arrived  in  Brazil,  I  found  that  the  Indians  there 
were  in  the  habit  of  making  a  scarlet  powder  of  the  pucapanga,  called 
carajuni,  quite  equal,  in  brilliancy  of  color,  to  the  dye  of  the  cochineal 
I  believe  that  eftbrts  have  been  made  to  introduce  this  dye  into  com- 
merce, and  I  do  not  know  why  they  have  failed.  I  brought  home  a 
specimen. 

Two  brothers  of  Father  Flores  were  quite  sick  with  a  "  tertian  a,"  taken 
in  gathering  sarsapaiilla  up  on  the  Napo.  This  is  an  intermittent  fever 
of  a  malignant  type.  The  patient  becomes  emaciated  and  yellow,  and 
the  spleen  swells.  I  saw  several  cases  as  I  came  down  the  Marauon,  but 
all  were  contracted  on  the  tributaries.  I  saw  or  heard  ot  no  case  that 
originated  upon  the  main  trunk. 

December  2. — Much  rain  during  the  night.  Sailed  from  Caballo- 
cocha  at  half  past  2  p.  m.  Ijurra  liked  the  appearance  of  things  so 
much  at  this  place  that  he  determined,  when  he  should  leave  me,  to 
return  to  it  and  clear  land  for  a  plantation,  which  he  has  since  done. 

I  lost  my  sounding-lead  soon  after  starting,  and  had  no  soundings  bo 
Loreto,  where  we  arrived  at  half-past  7  p.  m.,  (twenty  miles.)  Tbe 
river  is  much  diWded  and  broken  up  by  islands,  some  of  them  small, 
and  'nith  sand-beaches.  I  believe  they  change  their  shape  and  siae 
with  every  considerable  rise  of  the  river. 

Loreto  is  situated  on  an  eminence  on  the  left  bank,  having  the  large 
island  of  Cacao  in  front  The  river  is  three-fourths  of  a  mile  wide,  and 
has  one  hundred  and  two  feet  of  depth  in  mid-stream,  with  three  mile^ 
the  hour  of  current  The  soil  is  a  light-colored,  tenacious  clay,  which, 
in  the  time  of  the  rains,  makes  walking  almost  impossible,  particularly 
as  there  are  a  number  of  cattle  and  hogs  running  about  the  village 
and  trampling  the  clay  into  mire. 

There  are  three  mercantile  houses  in  Loreto,  all  owned  by  Portuguese, 
rhey  do  a  business  of  about  ten  thousand  dollars  a  year — that  is,  that 
value  in  goods,  from  above  and  below,  passes  through  their  hands. 
They  tell  me  that  they  sell  the  goods  from  below  at  about  twenty  i>er 
cent,  on  Para  prices,  which  of  course  I  did  not  believe.  Senkor  Sair^ 
tern,  the  principal  trader,  told  me  that  the  business  above  was  very 


TABATINGA.  235 

mean ;  that  there  was  not  a  capitalist  in  Moyobamba  able  or  willing  to 
buy  one  thousand  dollars'  worth  of  goods  ;  and  that  they»pay  for  their 
ai'ticles  of  merchandise  from  below  almost  altogether  in  straw-hats,  as 
the  Tarapoto  people  do  in  tocuyo.  I  saw  a  schooner-rigged  boat  lying 
along-side  the  bank.  She  was  about  forty  feet  long  and  seven  broad  ; 
was  built  in  Coari,  and  sold  here  for  two  hundred  dollars,  silver.  The 
houses  at  Loreto  are  better  built,  and  better  furnished,  th^  those  of  the 
towns  on  the  river  above.     We  are  approaching  civilization. 

The  population  of  Loreto  is  two  hundred  and  fifty,  made  up  of 
Brazilians,  mulattoes,  negroes,  and  a  few  Ticunas  Indians.  It  is  the 
frontier  post  of  Peru.  There  are  a  few  miles  of  neutral  territory  between 
it  and  Tabatinga,  the  frontier  of  Brazil. 

December  4. — We  left  Loreto  at  half  past  6  a.  m.,  with  a  cold  wind 
from  the  northward  and  eastward,  and  rain.  Thermometer,  76°.  It 
seems  strange  to  call  the  weather  cold  with  the  thermometer  at  76° ; 
but  I  really  was  very  uncomfortable  with  it,  and  the  monkeys  seemed 
nearly  frozen. 

I  estimate  the  length  of  the  neutral  territory,  by  the  windings  of  the 
river,  at  twenty  miles. 

Since  I  purchased  a  boat  at  Nauta  I  had  worn  an  American  flag  over 
it.  I  had  been  told  that  I  probably  would  not  be  allowed  to  wear  it 
in  the  waters  of  Brazil.  But  when  the  boat  was  descried  at  Tabatinga, 
the  Brazilian  flag  was  hoisted  at  that  place ;  and  when  I  landed,  which 
I  did  dressed  in  uniform,  I  was  received  by  the  commandant,  also  in 
uniform,  to  whom  I  immediately  presented  my  Brazilian  passport,  of 
which  the  following  is  a  translation  : 

[seal  of  the  legation.] 

I,  Sergio  Teixeira  de  Macedo,  of  the  Council  of  his  Majesty,  the 
Emperor  of  Brazil,  his  Envoy  Extraordinary  and  Minister  Plenipoten- 
tiary near  the  United  States  of  America,  Olflcer  of  the  Imperial  Order 
of  the  Rose,  Grand  Cross  of  that  of  Christ,  and  Coramendador  of  various 
Foreign  Orders,  &c.,  (fee. : 

Make  known  to  all  who  shall  see  this  passport,  that  William  L. 
Hertidon^  lieutenant  of  the  navy  of  the  United  States,  and  Lardner 
Gibbon,  passed  midshipman  of  the  same,  prosecute  a  voyage  for  the 
purpose  of  making  geographical  and  scientific  explorations  from  the 
republic  of  Peru,  by  the  river  Amazon  and  adjacent  parts,  to  its  mouth ; 
and  I  charge  all  the  authorities,  civil,  military,  and  policial,  of  the  em- 
pire, through  whose  districts  they  may  have  occasion  to  pass,  that  they 
place  no  obstacle  in  the  way,  as  well  of  them  as  of  the  persons  of  their 


236  TABATINGA. 

company ;  but  rather  that  they  shall  lend  them  all  the  facilities  they 
may  need,  for  the  better  prosecution  of  their  enterprise. 

For  which  purpose  I  have  caused  to  be  issued  this  passport, "which  I 
sign  and  seal  with  the  seal  of  my  arms. 

Imperial  Legation  of  Brazil,  ix  Washington, 

February  27,  1851. 
[seal.]  SERGIO  TEIXEIRA  DE  MACEDO. 

By  order  of  his  Excellency  : 

ANTO.  ZE  DUARDE  GONDIM, 

Secretary  of  Legation. 

As  soon  as  my  rank  was  ascertained,  (which  appeared  to  be  that  of  a 
captain  in  the  Brazilian  army,)  I  was  saluted  with  seven  guns.  The 
commandant  used  much  stately  ceremony  towards  me,  but  never  left 
me  a  moment  to  myself  until  he  saw  me  safely  in  bed  on  board  my 
boat.  I  did  not  know,  at  first,  whether  this  was  polite  attention  or  a 
watch  upon  me ;  but  I  think  it  was  the  latter,  for,  upon  my  giving  him 
the  slip,  and  walking  over  towards  the  old  fort,  he  joined  me  within 
five  minutes ;  and  when  we  returned  to  his  house  he  brought  a  dic- 
tionary, and,  pointing  with  a  cunning  expression  to  the  verb  ti-apar,  (to 
draw,)  asiied  me  to  read  it.  I  did  so,  and  handed  the  book  back  to  him, 
when  he  pointed  out  to  me  the  verb  deUnhar.  I  was  a  little  fretted,  for 
I  thought  he  might  as  well  ask  me  at  once,  and  told  him  that  I  had  no 
intention  of  making  any  drawings  whatever,  and  had  merely  intended 
to  take  a  walk.  He  treated  me  with  great  civility,  and  entertained  me 
at  his  table,  giving  me  roast-beef,  which  was  a  great  treat. 

It  was  quite  pleasant,  after  coming  from  the  Peruvian  villages,  which 
are  all  nearly  hidden  in  the  woods,  to  see  that  Tabatinga  had  the  forest 
cleared  away  from  about  it,  for  a  space  of  forty  or  fifty  acres ;  was 
covered  with  green  grass ;  and  had  a  grove  of  orange-trees  in  its  midst, 
though  they  were  now  old  and  past  bearing.  There  are  few  houses  to 
be  seen,  for  those  of  the  Ticunas  are  still  in  the  woods.  Those  that  are 
visible  are  the  soldiers'  quarters,  and  the  residences  of  a  few  whites  that 
live  here — white,  however,  in  contradistinction  to  the  Indian;  for  I  think 
the  only  pure  white  man  in  the  place  was  a  Frenchman,  who  ha8 
resided  a  long  time  in  Brazil,  and  has  a  large  Brazilian  family.  The 
post  is  garrisoned  by  twenty  soldiers,  commanded  by  0  Illuslrissimo 
Senhor  Tenente  Jose  Virisimo  dos  Santos  Lima,  a  cadet,  a  sergeant, 
and  a  corporal.  The  population  of  Tabatinga  is  about  two  hundred ; 
mostly  Indians  of  the  Ticuna  tribe.  It  is  well  situated  for  a  frontier 
post,  having  all  the  river  in  front,  only  about   half  a  ,mile  wide,  and 


TABATINGA.  237 

commanded  from  the  fort  by  the  longest  range  of  cannon-shot.  The 
fort  is  at  present  in  ruins,  and  the  artillery  consists  of  two  long  brass 
twelve-pounder  field-guns. 

I  did  not  hoist  my  flag  again,  and  the  commandant  seemed  pleased. 
He  said  that  it  might  give  oftence  down  the  river,  and  told  me  that 
Count  Castelnau,  who  had  passed  here  some  years  before,  borrowed  a 
Brazilian  flag  from  him  and  wore  that.  He  also  earnestly  insisted  that 
I  should  take  his  boat  in  lieu  of  my  own,  which  he  said  was  not  large 
enough  for  the  navigation  of  the  lower  part  of  the  Amazon.  I  declined 
for  a  long  time ;  but  finding  that  he  was  very  earnest  about  it,  and 
embarrassed  between  his  desire  to  comply  with  the  request  of  the  Bra- 
zilian minister  at  Washington,  contained  in  my  passport — "that  Brazilian 
authorities  should  facilitate  me  in  my  voyage,  and  put  no  obstacle  in 
my  way" — and  the  requirements  of  the  law  of  the  empire  forbidding 
foreign  vessels  to  navigate  its  interior  waters,  I  accepted  his  proposition, 
and  exchanged  boats ;  thus  enabling  him  to  say,  in  a  frontier  passport 
•which  he  issued  to  me,  that  I  was  descending  the  river  in  Brazilian 
vessels. 

He  desired  me  to  leave  his  boat  at  Barra,  telling  me  he  had  no  doubt 
but  that  the  government  authorities  there  would  furnish  me  with  a 
better  one.  I  told  him  very  plainly  that  I  had  doubts  of  that,  and  that 
I  might  have  to  take  bis  boat  on  to  Para ;  which  I  finally  did,  and 
placed  it  in  the  hands  of  his  correspondent  at  that  place.  I  was  cor- 
rect in  my  doubts ;  for,  so  far  from  the  government  authorities  at  Barra 
having  a  boat  to  place  at  my  disposal,  they  borrowed  mine  and  sent  it 
up  the  river  for  a  load  of  wood  for  building  purposes.  The  command- 
ant at  Tabatinga,  I  was  told,  compelled  the  circus  company  that  pre- 
ceded me  to  abandon  their  Peruvian-built  raft  and  construct  another  of 
the  wood  of  the  Brazilian  forests. 

There  is  nothing  cultivated  at  Tabatinga  except  a  little  sugar  cane  to 
make  molasses  and  rum,  for  home  consumption.  I  was  told  that 
Castelnau  found  here  a  fly  that  answered  perfectly  all  the  purposes  of 
cantharides,  blistering  the  skin  even  more  rapidly.  I  heard  that  he  also 
found  the  same  fly  at  Egas,  lower  down.  Senhor  Lima  instituted  a 
search  for  some  for  me,  but  there  were  none  to  be  had  at  this  season. 
He  showed  me  an  oblong,  nut-shaped  fruit,  growing  in  clusters  at  the 
base  of  a  lily-like  plant,  called  pacova  catinga,  the  seed  of  which  was 
covered  with  a  thick  pulp,  which,  when  scraped  ofl"  and  pressed,  gave 
a  very  beautiful  dark-purple  dye.  This,  touched  with  lime  juice, 
changed  to  a  rich  carmine.  He  tells  me  that  the  trade  of  the  river  is 
increasing  very  fast;  that  in  1849  scarce  one  thousand  dollars'  worth  of 


238  RIVER   YAVARl. 

goods  passed  up ;  in  1850,  two  thousand  five  hundred  dollars ;  and  this 
year,  six  thousand  dollars. 

December  5. — We  were  epiployed  in  fitting  up  the  new  boat,  to 
"which  the  commandant  gave  his  personal  attention.  I  asked  him  to 
give  me  some  more  peons.  He  said,  "  Certainly;"  sent  out  a  guard  of 
soldiers ;  pressed  five  Tucunas,  and  put  them  in  the  guard  house  till  I 
was  ready  to  start ;  when  they  were  marched  down  to  the  boat,  and  a 
negro  soldier  sent  along  to  take  charge  of  them.  He  gave  me  all  the 
beasts  and  birds  he  had,  a  demijohn  of  red  wine,  salt  fish,  and  farinha 
for  my  men,  and  in  short  loaded  me  Avith  kindness  and  civility.  I  had 
already  parted  with  all  the  personal  "traps"  that  I  thought  would  be 
valuable  and  acceptable  to  my  iriends  on  the  route,  and  could  only 
make  a  show  of  acknowledgment  by  giving  him,  in  return,  a  dozen 
masses  of  tobacco — an  article  which  happened  at  this  time  to  be  scarce 
and  valuable. 

December  6. — We  embarked  at  half  past  1  p.  m.,  accompanied  by 
the  commandant,  the  cadet,  and  the  Frenchman,  Jcronymo  Fort,  who 
had  been  kind  enough  to  place  his  house  at  Egas  at  my  disposal. 
Ijurra  had  privately  got  all  the  guns  and  pistols  ready,  and  we  received 
the  commandant  with  a  salute  of,  I  should  think,  at  least  one  hundred 
guns;  for  Ijurra  did  not  leave  off  shooting  for  half  an  hour.  They 
dropped  down  the  river  with  us  till  5  p.  m.,-  when,  taking  a  parting  cup 
(literally  tea-cup)  of  the  commandant's  present  to  the  health  of  his 
Majesty  the  Emperor,  we  embraced  and  parted.  I  have  always  remem- 
bered with  pleasure  my  intercourse  with  the  Commandante  Lima. 

We  passed  the  end  of  the  island  of  Aramasa,  Avhich  fronts  the  mouth 
of  the  river  Yavari,  at  6,  and  camped  on  the  right  bank  of  the  river  at 
half-past  Y. 

From  a  chart  in  the  possession  of  M.  Castelnau,  and  in  the  correct- 
ness of  which  he  places  confidence,  it  appears  that  the  Yavari  river  baa 
a  distance  from  its  mouth  upwards  of  two  hundred  .and  seventy  miles, 
and  a  course  nearly  east  and  west.  At  this  point  it  bifurcates.  The 
most  western  branch,  which  runs  E.  N.  E.,  is  called  the  Yavarisinho, 
and  is  a  small  and  unimportant  river.  The  eastern  branch,  called 
Jacarana,  runs  N.  E.  The  authors  of  the  chart  (whom  M.  Castelnau 
thinks  to  be  Portuguese  commissioners,  charged  with  the  establishment 
of  the  boundaries)  ascended  the  Yavari  and  Jacarana  two  hundred  and 
ten  miles  in  a  straight  line.  But  M.  Castelnau  says  that  this  river  is 
more  than  ordinarily  tortuous,  and  estimates  their  ascent,  by  its  sinuosi- 
ties, at  five  hundred  and  twenty  five  miles. 


SAN   PAULO.  239 

A  small  river,  called  Tucuby,  empties  into  the  Yavari  at  forty-five 
miles  from  its  mouth,  and  on  the  eastern  side.  A  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  further  up  enters  a  considerable  river,  called  the  Curuza,  also  from 
the  east.  M.  Castelnau  thinks,  however,  from  report,  that  the  Curuza 
is  not  navigable  upwards  more  than  ninety  miles.  Sugar-cane  is  some- 
times seen  floating  on  the  water  of  the  Jacarana,  which  indicates  that 
its  upper  parts  are  inhabited  by  people  who  have  communication,  more 
or  less  direct,  with  white  men.     (Castelnau,  vol.  5,  page  52,) 

December  1. — The  river  now  has  lost  its  name  of  Marauon,  and,  since 
the  junction  of  the  Yavari,  is  called  Solimoens.  It  is  here  a  mile  and 
a  half  wide,  sixty-six  feet  deep  in  the  middle,  and  has  a  current  of  two 
miles  and  three-quarters  per  hour.  The  small  boat  in  which  we  cany 
om-  animals  did  not  stop  with  us  last  night,  but  passed  on  without  be- 
ing noticed.  She  had  all  our  fowls  and  turtles ;  so  that  our  breakfast 
this  morning  consisted  of  boiled  rice.  "We  drifted  with  the  tide  all 
night,  stopping  for  an  hour  in  consequence  of  a  severe  squall  of  wind 
and  lain  from  the  eastward. 

December  8. — Eainy  morning.  We  arrived  at  San  Paulo  at  10  a.  m. 
This  village  is  on  a  hill  two  or  three  hundred  feet  above  the  present 
level  of  the  river — the  highest  situation  I  have  yet  seen.  The  ascent  to 
the  town  is  very  difficult  and  tedious,  particularly  after  a  rain,  the  soil 
being  of  white  clay.  On  the  top  of  this  hill  is  a  moist,  grassy  plain, 
which  does  not  extend  far  back.  The  site  is  said  not  to  be  healthy,  on 
ac(;ount  of  swamps  back  of  it.  The  population  is  three  hundred  and 
fifty,  made  up  of  thirty  whites,  and  the  rest  Tucunas  and  Juries  Indians. 
The  conunandant  is  the  Lieutenant  Do%"  Joso  Patricio  de  Sf\nta  Ana." 
He  gave  us  a  good  breakfast  and  some  statistics.  The  yearly  exports 
of  San  Paulo  are  eight  thousand  pounds  of  sarsaparilla,  worth  one  thou- 
sand dollars;  four  hundred  and  fifty  pots  of  manteca,  or  oil  made  from 
turtle  eggs,  worth  five  hundred  and  fifty  dollars ;  and  three  thousand 
two  hundred  pounds  of  cocoa,  worth  sixty-four  dollars.  These  are  all 
sent  to  Egtis.  Common  English  prints  sell  for  thirty  cents  the  covado, 
(about  three-fourths  of  a  yard,)  and  coarse,  strong  cotton  cloth,  (gener- 
ally American,)  for  thirty-seven  and  a  half  cents  the  vara,  (three  inches 
less  than  a  yard.)  We  left  San  Paulo  at  half-past  3  p.  m.,  and  drifted 
with  the  current  all  night.  Distance  from  Tabatinga  to  San  Paulo, 
ninety-five  miles. 

December  9. — At  half-past  8  a.  m.  we  arrived  at  Matura,  a  settle- 
ment of  four  or  five  huts,  (with  only  one  occupied,)  on  a  muddy  bank. 
Its  distance  from  San  Paulo  is  fifty  miles.  The  shores  of  the  river 
are  generally  low,  though  there  are  reaches  where  its  banks  are  forty 


240  RIYER   ICA. 

or  fifty  feet  bigh,  commonly  of  white  or  red  clay.  There  is  much 
colored  earth  on  the  banks  of  the  river — red.  yellow,  and  white — which 
those  people  who  have  taste  make  use  of  to  plaster  the  inside  pf  their 
houses.  The  banks  are  continually  falling  into  the  stream,  sometimes 
in  very  large  masses,  carrying  trees  along  with  them,  and  forming  one 
of  the  dangers  and  impediments  lo  upward  navigation  where  the  boats 
have  to  keep  close  in  shore  to  avoid  the  current. 

We  passed  through  a  strait,  between  two  islands,  where  the  river  was 
not  more  than  eighty  yards  wide.  It  presented  a  singular  contrast  to 
the  main  river,  to  which  we  had  become  so  much  accustomed  that  this 
looked  like  a  rivulet.  It  had  forty  eight  feet  depth,  and  two  and  a  quar- 
ter miles  current. 

At  half-past  four  we  entered  the  mouth  of  the  I§a,  or  Putumayo, 
fifteen  miles  from  Matura.  This  is  a  fine-looking  river,  half  a  mile 
broad  at  the  mouth,  and  opening  into  an  estuary  (formed  by  the  left 
bank  of  the  Amazon  and  islands  on  the  right  hand)  of  a  mile  in  width. 
AVe  found  one  hundred  and  thirty-eight  feet  in  the  middle  of  the  mouth, 
and  a  current  of  two  miles  and  three-quarters  an  hour.  The  water  is 
clearer  than  that  of  the  Amazon.  A  man  at  Tunantins,  who  had  navi- 
gated this  river  a  good  deal,  told  me  that  one  might  ascend  in  a  canoe 
for  three  and  a  half  months,  and  that  the  current  was  so  rapid  that  the 
same  distance  might  be  run  down  in  fifteen  days.  This  I  think  incredi- 
ble ;  but  there  is  no  doubt  that  the  19a  is  a  very  long  and  very  rapid 
river.  He  described  it  as  shallow  after  two  months  of  navigation  up- 
wards, with  large  sand-beaches,  and  many  small  streams  emptying  into 
it,  on  whicli  is  found  much  sarsfparilla.  Many  slaves  of  the  Brazilians 
escape  by  way  of  this  river  into  New  Grenada. 

San  Antonio  is  a  village  about  two  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
19a.  It  is  a  collection  of  four  or  five  houses  of  Brazilians,  and  a  few 
Indian  huts.  The  people  seemed  mad  for  tobacco,  and  begged  me 
earnestly  to  sell  them  some.  I  told  them  I  would  not  sell  for  money, 
but  I  was  willing  to  exchange  for  things  to  eat,  or  for  rare  biids  and 
beasts.  They  ransacked  the  town,  but  could  only  raise  five  fowls,  half 
a  dozen  eggs,  two  small  turtles,  and  three  bunches  of  plantains.  They 
had  no  animals  but  such  as  I  already  had,  and  I  only  bought  a  macaw 
and  a  "pavoncito,"  or  little  peacock.  The  httle  tobacco  I  gave  for 
these  things,  however,  was  not  enough  to  give  everj'body  a  smoke,  and 
thej"^  implored  me  to  sell  them  some  for  money.  They  came  to  the 
canoe  after  night,  and  showed  so  strong  a  desire  to  have  it  that  I  feared 
they  would  rob  me.  Finding  me  inexorable,  they  went  oif  abusing  me, 
which  excited  the  wrath  of  Ijurra  to  a  high  pitch.  Our  stock  of  to- 
t 


TUNANTINS.  241 

bacco,  which  we  had  bought  in  Nauta,  was  now  very  much  reduced. 
We  had  used  it,  during  our  voyage  on  the  Ucayali,  to  purchase  food  and 
curiosities,  and  to  give  to  the  peons,  who  were  not  satisfied  or  contented 
unless  they  had  an  occasional  smoke.  We  also  had  been  liberal  with 
it  to  governors  and  curates,  who  had  been  civil  to  us ;  and  now  we  had 
barely  enough  for  our  own  use  to  last  us  to  Barra.  I  gave  twenty-five 
cents  the  mass  for  it  in  Nauta,  though  the  "  Paragua"  cheated  me,  and 
should  only  have  charged  me  twelve  and  a  half.  We  could  have  sold 
it  all  the  way  to  Barra  for  thirty-seven  and  a  half,  and  fifty  cents. 

December  10. — Between  San  Antonio  and  Tunantins  we  met  the 
governor  of  San  Antonio,  a  military-looking  white  man,  returning  with 
his  wife  and  children  from  a  ^^sit  to  Tunantins.  I  showed  him  my 
passport,  which  he  asked  for,  and  we  interchanged  civilities  and  presents; 
he  giving  me  a  "  chiriclis,''  hke  the  one  I  lost  at  Caballo-cocha,  and 
water-melons  ;  and  I  making  him  a  present  of  tobacco  and  a  tinder-box. 
The  species  of  bird  he  gave  me  is  called,  in  Brazil,  Marianita.  This  one 
took  a  singular  disease  by  which  it  lost  the  use  of  its  legs — hopped  about 
for  some  days  on  the  knee-joints,  with  the  leg  and  foot  turned  upwards  in 
front,  and  then  died.  At  twenty  miles  from  San  Antonio  we  entered  the 
mouth  of  the  Tunantins  river.  It  is  about  fiffy  yards  broad,  and  seems 
deep,  Avith  a  considerable  current..  The  town  is  prettily  situated  on  a 
slight  green  eminence  on  the  left  bank,  about  half  a  mile  from  the 
mouth.  The  population  is  said  to  be  between  two  and  three  hundred, 
though  I  would  not  suppose  it  to  be  near  as  much.  It  is  composed 
of  the  tribes  of  Cayshanas  and  Juries,  and  about  twenty-five  whites. 

One  sees  very  few  Indians  in  the  Portuguese  villages.  They  seem  to 
live  apart,  and  in  the  woods  ;  and  are,  I  think,  gradually  disappearing 
befor«  the  advance  of  civilization.  They  are  used  as  beasts  of  burden, 
and  are  thought  no  further  of.  At  2  p.  m.  we  left  Tunantins.  The 
river  has  ei|iiteen,  twenty-four,  and  thirty  feet  down  to  its  entrance  into 
the  Amazon,  where  it  forms  a  bar  of  sand,  stretching  some  hundreds  of 
yards  out  and  downwards,  on  which  is  only  six  feet  of  water. 

December  11. — We  stopped  at  a  factoria  on  the  left  bank,  sixty-five 
miles  from  Tunantins,  where  people  were  making  manteiga.  The  efiect  of 
*'  mirage,"  was  here  very  remarkable.  When  within  a  mile  or  two  of  the 
factoria,  I  thought  I  saw  quite  a  large  town,  with  houses  of  two  or  three 
stories,  built  of  stone  and  brick,  with  large  heaps  of  white  stone  lying 
about  in  several  places.  There  was  a  vessel  lying  ofi"  the  town  that  I 
was  satisfied  was  a  large  brig-of  war  ;  but  upon  drawing  near,  my  three- 
story  houses  dwindled  to  the  smallest  palm  ranches ;  my  heaps  of  build- 
16 


242  MAKING    MANTEIGA. 

ing  stones  to  piles  of  egg-shells  ;  and  niy  man-of-war  to  a  schooner  of 
thirty  tons. 

The  season  for  making  manteiga  on  the  Amazon  generally  ends  by 
the  first  of  Kovember ;  but  the  rise  of  the  river  this  year  has  been  un- 
usually late  and  small.  The  people  are  still  collecting  the  eggs,  though 
they  all  have  young  turtles  in  them. 

A  commandant,  with  soldiers,  is  appointed  every  year  by  some  provin- 
cial or  municipal  authority  to  take  care  of  the  beaches,  prevent  disorder, 
and  administer  justice. 

Sentinels  are  placed  at  the  beginning  of  August,  when  the  turtles  com- 
mence depositing  their  eggs,  and  are  withdrawn  when  the  beach  is  ex- 
hausted. They  see  that  no  one  wantonly  interferes  with  the  turtles,  or 
destroys  the  eggs.  Those  engaged  in  the  making  of  manteiga  pay  a 
capitation  tax  of  twelve  and  a  half  cents  dftty  to  the  government. 

The  process  of  making  it  is  very  disgusting.  The  eggs,  though  they 
be  rotten  and  oftensive,  are  collected,  thrown  into  a  canoe,  and  trodden 
to  a  mass  with  the  feet.  The  shells  and  young  turtles  are  thrown  out. 
Water  is  poured  on,  and  the  residue  is  left  to  stand  in  the  sun  for  several 
days.  The  oil  rises  to  the  top ;  is  skimmed  off  and  boiled  in  large  copper 
boilers.  It  is  then  pur  in  earthern  pots  of  about  forty-five  pounds 
weight.  Each  pot  of  oil  is  worth  on  the  beach  one  dollar  and  thirty 
cents,  and  in  Par&  usually  sells  at  from  two  and  a  half  to  three  dollars. 

A  turtle  averages  eighty  eggs  ;  forty  turtles  will  give  a  pot.  Twenty- 
five  men  will  make  two  hundred  pots  in  twelve  days.  The  beaches  of 
the  Amazon  and  tributaries  yield  from  five  to  six  thousand  pots  annually. 
The  empty  pot  costs  twelve  and  a  half  cents  in  Para,  Prolific  as  they 
are,  I  think  the  turtle  is  even  now  diminishing  in  number  on  the  Ama- 
zon. Vast  numbers  of  the  young  are  eaten  by  the  Indians,  who  take 
them  by  the  time  they  are  able  to  crawl,  and  when  they  do  not  measure 
more  than  an  inch  in  diameter;  boil  them,  and  eat  them  as  a  delicacy. 
One  Indian  will  devour  two  dozen  of  these  three  or  four  times  a  day. 
The  birds  also  pick  up  a  great  number  of  them  as  they  crawl  from  their 
nest  to  the  water ;  and  I  imagine  the  fish,  too,  make  them  pay  toll  as 
they  pass.  I  heaid  complaints  of  the  growitig  scarcity,  both  of  fish 
and  manteiga,  as  I  came  down  the  river. 

This  factoria  is  a  small  one,  and  will  give  but  two  or  three  hundred 
pots.  One  requires  a  good  stomach  to  be  able  to  eat  his  breakfast  at 
one  of  thepe  jtlaces.  The  stench  is  almost  intolerable ;  the  beach  is 
covered  with  greedy  and  disgusting-looking  buzzards,  and  the  surface  of 
the  water  dotted  with  the  humps  of  the  deadly  alligator. 

By  visiting  the  factoria,  I  missed  the  mouth  of  the  Jutay,  which  is 


RIVER   JUTAY.  243 

on  tlic  other  side.  I  was  misled  by  SmytVs  map.  He  places  the 
island  of  Mapana  some  distance  above  the  mouth  of  the  Jutay,  and 
represents  the  Amazon  as  clear  of  islands  where  that  river  enters.  A 
large  island  commences  just  abreast  the  factona,  wliich  the  people 
then  told  me  was  called  Invira,  though  they  did  not  iseem  certain  of 
this.  They  told  me  that  in  rounding  the  lowei"  end  of  that  island  I 
would  find  myself  at  the  mouth  of  the  Jutay.  This  was  not  so,  for, 
when  I  doubled  the  point,  I  was  two  or  three  miles  below  it.  I  saw 
where  it  emptied  into  the  Amazon ;  but  both  myself  and  people  were 
too  tired  to  turn  back  and  examine  it. 

The  Indians  of  the  Jutay  are  Maraguas,  (christianized  Indians,)  who 
inhabit  the  banks  at  a  distance  of  two  days  up.  (Their  houses  are  built 
of  wood  and  plastered,  and  they  show  a  taste  and  fondness  for  raechaa- 
ics.)  Maragua-Catuquinas,  of  whom  a  few  are  baptized,  two  days  fur- 
ther up;  and  Catuquinas  Infidels,  four  days  still  further. 

The  products  of  the  river  are  one  hundred  and  fifty  arrobas  of  sarsa- 
parilla  yearly,  one  hundred  pots  of  manteiga,  and  a  great  quantity  of 
farinha.  In  the  last  four  years,  five  men  of  Egas  have  been  killed  hv 
the  Indians  of  the  Jutay.  My  informant  is  Senhor  Batalha,  a  merchant 
at  Egas.  M.  Castelnau  estimates,  from  the  report  of  traders,  that  this 
river  is  navigable  upward  for  about  five  hundred  and  forty  miles,  and 
that  its  sources  are  not  far  from  those  of  the  Yavari.  From  Tunantins 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Jutay  is  seventy-five  miles, 

I  was  surprised  to  find  in  this  part  of  the  river  between  Tunantins 
and  Fonteboa  but  a  mile  and  a  quarter  current  per  hour.  I  attrib- 
uted it  to  bad  measurement — from  having  only  a  two-pound  weight  as 
a  lead;  yet  as  the  line  was  not  larger  than  ordinary  twine,  and  was 
suffered  to  run  freely  over  the  gunwale  of  the  boat,  without  friction  or 
impediment  of  any  kind,  I  can  scarcely  suppose  that  the  lead  dragged. 
The  frequent  remark  of  both  Ijurra  and  myself  was  "The  river  does  not 
run."  {y'o  corre  el  rio.)  Below  Fonteboa,  where  I  bought  a  four-pound 
lead,  I  found  the  current  at  its  usual  velocity  of  two  and  a  half  miles. 
I  think  that  I  have  used  up  nearly  all  the  four-pound  weights  on  the 
liver,  having  lost  at  least  half  a  dozen.  My  lines,  generally  made  of 
chambira,  rot  with  the  rain  and  sun,  and  break  with  little  strain.  We 
anchored  at  8  p.  m.  oflf  a  sandy  beach,  where  there  was  another  fac- 
toria,  thirty  miles  distant  from  the  upper  one. 

The  Ticunas  whom  I  brought  with  me  from  Tabatinga  are  even 
more  lazy  and  careless  than  the  Sarayaquinos.  I  fancied  that  it  was 
because  the/  were  forced  into  the  service,  and  did  not  think  that  they 
would  be  paid;  so  I  gave  each  one,  as  a  gratuity,  a  knife,  a  pr.ir  of 


244  FONTEBOA. 

scissors,  and  a  small  mirror;  but  they  wore  no  better  afterwards  tban 
before.  Poor  fellows!  they  have  been  abused  and  maltreated  so  long 
that  they  are  now  insensible  even  to  kindness.  The  negro  8oI3ier  who 
•was  sent  along,  either  as  a  pilot  or  to  govern  the  Ticunas,  or  as  a  watch 
upon  me,  is  drunken  and  worthless.  lie  knows  nothing  of  the  river, 
and  I  believe  steals  my  liquor. 

December  12. — There  are  evidently  many  newly-formed  islands  in 
the  river.  Wo  ran,  all  the  morning,  through  narrow  island  piissages ; 
the  channels,  in  some  places,  not  over  forty  yards  wide,  but  of  twenty 
and  thirty  feet  of  depth.  "We  passed  another  factoria  on  a  poiut  of  an 
island  near  the  main  river,  with  a  schooner  moored  off;  and  8to])ped  at 
a  quarter  past  six  on  the  sandy  point  of  a  small  island,  where  there  were 
mandioca  and  water-melons.  I  am  surprised  at  the  quality  of  the  soil 
in  which  this  madioc  grows.  To  a  casual  observation  it  appears 
pure  sand. 

December  13. — At  8  a.  m.  we  entered  a  narrow  arm  of  the  river, 
sixty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Jutay,  that  leads  by  Fonteboa.  This 
canal  separates  the  island  of  ''Cacao"  (on  which  much  cocoa  grows 
•wild)  from  the  main  land.  The  cano  is  not  more  than  twenty  yards 
broad.  The  least  water  I  found  was  nine  feet.  Fonteboa  is  about 
eight  miles  from  the  entrance  of  the  canal.  It  is  situated  on  a  hill  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  within  the  mouth  of  the  river  of  the  same  name  that 
empties  into  the  canal.  Smyth  says  that  the  town  gets  its  name  from 
the  clearness  of  the  water  of  the  river;  but  it  is  not  so  at  this  season. 
There  is  no  current  in  the  river  at  the  village,  and  the  water  was  very 
nearly  quite  as  muddy  as  that  of  the  Amazon. 

The  population  of  Fonteboa  is  two  hundred  and  fifty.  There  are 
eighty  whites.  We  met  several  traders  at  this  place  bound  up  and 
down  the  river.  One,  named  Guerrc-ro,  an  intelligent-looking  person, 
from  Obydos,  was  going  up  with  a  cargo  that  I  heard  valuc(>  at  twenty 
contos  of  reis,  (about  ten  thousand  five  hundred  dollars.)  This  was 
manifestly  an  exaggeration.  His  schooner,  of  some  thirty-five  tons  bur- 
den, I  think,  could  not  cany  the  value  of  that  suin  in  the  heavy  and 
bulky  articles  usually  sent  up  the  river.  He  had,  however,  a  variety  of 
articles.  I  bought  some  red  wine  and  rum  for  stores;  and  Jjurra 
bought  very  good  shoes  and  cotton  stockings.  This  gentleuiau  invited 
us  to  breakfast  with  him.  Ilis  plates  and  cups  were  of  pewter,  and  he 
seemed  well  equipped  for  travelling.  He  said  that  nearly  all  the  culti- 
yable  land  about  Obydos,  Santarom,  and  Villa  Novq  was  already 
occupied;  that  most  of  it  was  so  low  and  swampy  that  it  was  value- 
less; aud  that  people  would  soon  have  to  come  up  here  where  the  ground 


RIVER    JURUA.  245 

Vi&s  liigli  and  rich.  He  was  sixty-two  working  days  from  Obydos,  and 
expected  to  be  thirty  to  Loreto. 

Sailed  at  3  p.  m.;  found  but  five  feet  of  water  where  the  liver  of  Fon- 
teboa  joins  the  cano.  The  distance  by  the  caiio  to  its  outlet  into  the 
main  river  is  two  miles.  The  banks  below  Fonteboa  are  quite  high, 
and  of  red  and  white  clay.     Stopped  for  the  night  at  half  past  6  p.  m. 

December  14.  Started  at  half  past  4  a.  m.  Misty  morning.  At 
•  ten  entered  the  mouth  of  the  Jurua,  thirty-six  miles  from  Fonteboa. 
Its  left  bank  is  very  low,  and  covered  with  grass  and  shrub  willoAvs ; 
the  right  bank  high  and  wooded.  It  has  half  a  mile  of  width  at  the 
mouth  ;  but,  a  mile  up,  it  seemed  divided  into  two  narrow  channels  by 
a  large  island.  The  Amazon  is  a  mile  and  a  quarter  wide  where  the 
Jurua  enters;  but  here  is  a  large  island  in  front,  and  the  river  is 
probably  equally  as  wide  on  the  other  side.  We  pulled  half  a  mile  up 
the  stream.  The  water  was  clearer,  though  more  yellow,  than  that  of 
the  Amazon.  In  running  out  the  half-mile  that  I  had  pulled  up,  which 
we  did  in  mid-stream,  the  soundings  deepened,  as  fast  as  I  could  heave 
the  lead,  from  thirty  six  to  seventy-eight  feet.  Just  at  the  mouth  they 
lessened  again  to  sixty-six.  The  current  was  a  mile  and  three-quarters 
the  hour.  The  bottom  was  of  white  and  black  sand ;  temperature  of 
the  water  82°;  the  same  with  the  temperature  of  the  air  and  with 
that  of  the  water  of  the  Amazon. 

The  Indians  of  the  Jurui,  I  was  afterwards  told  by  Senhor  Batalha, 
are  Arauas  and  Catauxis,  who  are  met  with  at  eight  days'  journey  up. 
Some  of  these  are  baptized  Indians ;  but  the  Arauas  are  described  as  a 
treacherous  people,  Avho  frequently  rob  and  murder  the  traders  on  the 
river.  Two  months  further  up  are  the  Culinos  and  Nawas  Infidels. 
Between  these  two  was  a  nation  called  the  Canamaris,  but  they  have 
been  nearly  entirely  destroyed  by  the  Arauas.  It  is  almost  impossible 
to  get  an  accurate  idea  of  the  number  of  the  Indians;  but  I  judge, 
from  what  I  have  seen,  and  from  the  diversity  of  names  of  the  tribes, 
that 'this  is  not  great.  The  production  of  the  Jurua  are  sarza,  man- 
teiga,  copaiba,  seringa,  (India  rubber,)  cocoa,  and  farinha.  At  the 
mouth  of  a  creek  (Tgarape)  called  Menerua,  there  are  Brazil  nuts. 
This  year  all  the  expeditions  to  the  Juru^  were  failures,  on  account  of 
tlie  hostility  of  the  Arauas. 

M.  Castelnau,  in  summing  up  the  accounts  of  this  river,  which  he 
had  from  traders  on  it,  supposes  that  it  may  be  ascended  about  seven 
hundred  and  eighty  miles,  or  to  near  the  twelfth  degree  of  south  lati- 
tude.    A  man  showed  him  a  small  medal  that  he  had  taken  from  an 


246  RIVER    JURUA. 

Indian  on  the  Taniaca,  a  tiibutary  of  tlie  Junia,  -wliicli  lie  recognised 
as  a  Spanish  quarter  of  a  dollar.  A  short  distance  above  the  junction 
of  the  Taruaca,  the  Jurua  bifurcates.  The  principal  arm,  which  cornea 
from  the  left,  has  its  waters  of  a  white  color;  and  the  Indians  who 
dwell  upon  its  branches  say  that  the  whites  have  a  village  near  its 
sources.     (Castelnau,  vol.  5,  pp.  89,  90.) 

M.  Castelnau  collected  some  very  curious  stories  concerning  the 
Indians  who  dwell  upon  the  banks  of  the  Jurua.  He  says,  (vol.  5,  p. 
105,)  "I  cannot  pass  over  in  silence  a  very  curious  passage  of  Padre 
Noronha,  and  which  one  is  astonished  to  find  in  a  work  of  so  grave  a 
character  in  other  respects.  The  Indians,  Cauamas  and  Uffinas,  (says 
the  padre,)  live  near  the  sources  of  the  river.  The  first  are  of  very  short 
stature,  scarcely  exceeding  five  palms,  (about  three  and  a  half  feet ;) 
and  the  last  (of  this  there  is  no  doubt)  have  tails,  and  are  produced  by 
a  mixture  of  Indians  and  Coata  monkeys.  Whatever  may  be  the  cause 
of  this  fact,  I  am  led  to  give  it  credit  for  three  reasons :  fiist,  because 
there  is  no  physical  reason  why  men  should  not  have  tails ;  secondly, 
because  many  Indians,  whom  I  have  interrogated  regarding  this  thing, 
have  assured  me  of  the  fact,  telling  me  that  the  tail  was  a  palm  and  a 
half  long;  and,  thirdly,  because  the  Reverend  Father  Friar  Jose  de 
Santa  Theresa  Eibeiro,  a  Carmelite,  and  Curate  of  Castro  de  Avelaefis, 
assured  me  that  he  saw  the  same  thing  in  an  Indian  who  came  from 
Japura,  and  who  sent  me  the  following  attestation  : 

"  'I,  Jose  de  Santa  Theresa  Eibeiro,  of  the  Order  of  our  Lady  of  Mount 
Carmel,  Ancient  Observance,  &c..  certify  and  swear,  in  my  quality  of 
Priest,  and  on  the  Holy  Evangelists,  that,  when  I  was  a  missionary  in 
the  ancient  village  of  Parauau,  where  was  afterwards  built  the  village  of 
Noguera,  I  saw,  in  1755,  a  man  called  Manuel  da  Silva,  native  of 
Pernambuco,  or  Bahia,  who  came  from  the  river  Japura  with  some 
Indians,  amongst  whom  was  one — an  Infidel  brute — who  the  said 
Manuel  declared  to  me  had  a  tail ;  and  as  I  was  unwilling  to  believe 
such  an  extraordinary  fact,  he  brought  the  Indian  and  caused  him  to 
strip,  on  pretence  of  removing  some  turtlts  from  a  'pen,'  near  which 
I  stood  to  assure  myself  of  the  truth.  There  I  saw,  without  possibility 
of  error,  that  the  man  had  a  tail,  of  the  thickness  of  a  finger,  and  half 
a  palm  long,  and  covei'ed  with  a  smooth  and  naked  skin.  The  same 
Manuel  a«-urcd  me  that  the  Indian  had  told  him  that  everj'  month  ho 
cut  his  tail,  because  he  did  not  like  to  have  it  too  long,  and  it  grew  very 
fast.  I  do  not  know  to  what  nation  this  man  belonged,  nor  if  all  his 
tribe  had  »  similar  tail ;  but  I  understood  afterwards  that  there  was  a 


THE    COATA.  247 

tailed  nation  upon  the  banks  of  the  Jurua;  and  I  sign  this  act  and 
seal  it  in  affirmation  of  the  truth  of  all  that  it  contains. 

"Establishment  of  Castro  de  Avelaens,  October  14,  1*768. 

"FR.  JOSE  DE  STA.  THERESA  RIBEIRO." 

M.  Baena  (Corog,  Para)  has  thought  proper  to  repeat  these  strange 
assertions.  "In  this  river,"  says  he,  speaking  of  the  Jurua,  (  p.  487,) 
"there  are  Indians,  called  Canamas,  whose  height  does  not  exceed  five 
palms ;  and  there  are  others,  called  Uginas,  who  have  a  tail  of  three  or 
four  palms,  (four  palms  and  an  inch,  Portuguese,  make  nearly  an  Eng- 
lish yard,)  according  to  the  report  of  many  persons.  But  I  leave  to 
every  one  to  put  what  faith  he  pleases  in  these  assertions." 

M.  Castelnau  says,  after  giving  these  relations,  "I  will  add  but  a  word. 
Descending  the  Amazon,  I  saw  one  day,  near  Fonteboa,  a  black  Coata. 
of  enormous  dimensions.  He  belonged  to  an  Indian  woman,  to  whom 
I  ofiered  a  large  price,  for  the  country,  for  the  curious  beast ;  but  she 
refused  me  with  a  burst  of  laughter.  'Your  eflforts  are  useless,'  said  an 
Indian  who  was  in  the  cabin ;  'that  is  her  husband.'" 

These  Coatas,  of  which  I  had  several,  are  a  large,  black,  pot-bellied 
monkey.  They  average  about  two  and  a  half  feet  of  height,  have  a 
few  thin  hairs  on  the  top  of  their  head,  and  look  very  like  an  old 
negro. 

We  breakfasted  at  the  mouth  of  the  river.  After  breakfast  one  of  the 
Ticunas  from  Tabatinga  was  directed  by  the  soldier  to  take  up  one  of 
the  n^§caws  that  was  walking  on  the  beach  and  put  it  in  the  boat  pre- 
paratory to  a  start.  The  man,  in  an  angry  and  rude  manner,  took  the 
bird  up  and  tossed  it  into  the  boat,  to  the  manifest  danger  of  injuring  it. 
I  was  standing  in  the  larger  boat  close  by,  and  saw  his  insolent  manner. 
I  took  up  a  paddle  and  beckoned  him  to  come  to  me ;  but  he  walked 
sulkily  up  the  beach.  I  thought  it  a  good  time  to  see  whether,  in  the 
event  of  these  surly  fellows  becoming  mutinous,  I  could  count  upon  my 
Sarayacu  people ;  so  I  directed.two  of  them  to  bring  the  Ticuna  to  me. 
They  turned  to  obey,  but  slowly,  and  evidently  unwillingly,  when  my 
quick  and  passionate  friend  Ijurra  sprang  upon  the  Indian,  and,  taking 
him  by  the  collar,  jerked  him  to  where  I  was.  I  made  great  demonstra- 
tions with  my  paddle,  though  without  the  slightest  idea  of  striking  him, 
(for  I  always  shunned,  with  the  utmost  care,  the  rendering  myself  amen- 
able to  any  of  the  tribunals  or  authorities  of  Brazil,)  and  abused  him  in 
English,  which  I  imagine  answered  quite  as  well  as  any  other  language 
but  his  own  would  have  done.  I  think  this  little  "fracas"  had  a  happy 
eflfect  upon  all  the  Indians,  and  they  improved  in  cheerfulness  and  wil- 


248  RIVER    JAPURA. 

lingness  to  work  afterwards.  The  Ticunas  that  I  liad  witli  me,  however, 
were  far  the  laziest  and  most  worthless  people  that  I  had  hitherto  had 
anything  to  do  with.  I  believe  that  this  is  not  characteristic  of  the 
tribe,  for  they  seemed  well  enough  under  Father  Flores  at  Caballo-cocha, 
and  they  have  generally  rather  a  good  reputation  among  the  whites  on 
the  river.  I  imagine  that  the  proximity  of  the  garrison  at  Tabatinga 
has  not  a  good  effect  upon  their  manners  and  morals ;  but,  however 
that  may  be,  these  men  were  too  lazy  to  help  to  cook  the  provisions ; 
and  when  we  stopped  to  breakfast  they  generally  seated  themselves  on 
the  thwarts  of  the  boat,  or  on  the  sand  of  the  beach,  whilst  the  Saraya- 
quinos  fetched  the  wood  and  made  the  fire.  They  were  ready  enough 
to  eat  when  the  breakfast  was  cooked.  I  couldn't  stand  this,  when  I 
observed  that  it  was  a  customary  thing,  and  accordingly  caused  the 
provisions  issued  to  be  divided  between  the  two  parties,  and  told  my 
Ticuna  friends,  "No  cook,  no  eat."  It  would  take  many  years  of  saga- 
cious treatment  on  the  part  of  their  rulers  to  civilize  this  people,  if  it  be 
possible  to  do  so  at  all. 

December  15. — We  travelled  till  lip.  m.,  for  want  of  a  beach  to 
camp  on ;  the  men  disliking  to  sleep  in  the  woods  on  account  of  snakes. 

December  16. — Finding  that  I  was  on  the  southern  bank,  and  having 
an  opening  between  two  islands  abreast  of  me,  I  struck  off  to  the  east- 
ward for  the  mouth  of  the  Japura.  We  ran  through  island  passages 
till  we  reached  it  at  3  p.  m.,  distant  one  hundred  and  five  miles  from 
the  mouth  of  the  Jurua. 

The  Japura  has  two  mouths  within  a  few  hundred  yards  of  each^ther. 
The  one  to  the  westward  is  the  largest,  being  about  one  hundred  yards 
wide.  It  is  a  pretty  stream  of  clear,  yellow  water,  with  bold  and  abrupt, 
though  not  high  banks,  (ten  or  fifteen  feet.)  I  pulled  up  about  half  a 
mile,  and  in  mid-stream  found  fifty-seven  feet  of  water,  which  shoaled  to 
the  mouth  to  forty-two ;  the  bottom  soft  mud  to  the  touch ;  but  the  arming 
of  the  lead  brought  up  small  quantities  of  black  and  white  sand.  There 
was  very  little  current — only  three-fourths  of  a  mile  per  hour.  I  thought 
it  might  be  affected  by  the  rush  of  its  greater  neighbor,  and  that  the 
water  so  near  the  mouth  was  "back  water"  from  the  Amazon  ;  but  the 
current  was  quite  as  great  close  to  the  mouth  as  it  was  half  a  mile  up. 
The  temperature  of  the  water,  to  my  surprise,  was  85° ;  that  of  the 
Amazon,  a  quarter  of  an  hour  afterwards,  was  81°.  I  had  heard  that,  on 
account  of  the  gentleness  of  the  current  of  the  Japura,  a  voyage  of  a 
month  up  this  river  was  equal  in  distance  to  two  on  the  I^a.  A  month 
up  the  Japurd,  reaches  the  first  impediment  to  navigation,  where  the 
river  breaks  through  hills  called  "As  Serras  das  Araras,"  or  hills  of  the 


INDIANS    OF    THE    JAPURA.  249 

macaws  ;  and  where  the  bed  of  the  stream  is  choked  with  immense 
rocks,  which  make  it  impassable  even  for  a  canoe.  A  gentleman  at 
Egas  told  me  of  an  extraordinary  blowing  cave  among  these  hills. 

The  Indians  of  the  Japura  are  called  Mirauas,  (a  large  tribe,)  Curitus, 
and  3facus.  The  traveller  reaches  them  in  sixteen  days  from  the 
mouth.  The  Macus  have  no  houses,  but  wander  in  the  woods ;  infest 
the  river  banks  ;  and  rob  and  kill  when  they  can.  (These  are  the  fruits 
of  the  old  Brazilian  system  of  hunting  Indians  to  make  slaves  of  them.) 
The  products  of  the  Japura  are  the  same  as  those  of  the  Jurua  ;  and,  in 
addition,  a  little  carajurii,  a  very  brilliant  scarlet  dye,  made  of  the  leaves 
of  a  bush  called  pucapanga  in  Peru.  The  Indians  pack  it  in  little  bags 
made  of  the  inner  bark  of  a  tree,  and  sell  at  the  rate  of  twenty-five 
cents  the  pound.  I  am  surprised  that  it  has  never  found  its  way  into 
commerce.  I  think  it  of  quite  as  brilliant  and  beautiful  a  color  as 
cochineal. 

I  judge  the  width  of  the  Amazon,  opposite  the  mouth  of  the  Japurd, 
to  be  four  or  five  miles.  It  is  separated  into  several  channels  by  two  or 
three  islands.  We  camped  at  half  past  6  p.  m.,  on  an  island  where 
there  was  a  hut  and  a  patch  of  mandioc  and  Indian  corn,  but  no  peo2:)le. 
We  had  a  clear  night,  (with  the  exception  of  a  low  belt  of  stratus  clouda 
around  the  horizon,)  the  first  we  have  seen  for  more  than  a  week. 

December  17. — Started  at  4  a.  m.  It  was  too  dark  to  see  the  upper* 
point  of  an  island  between  us  and  the  southern  shore  till  we  had  passed 
it;  so  that  we  had  to  pull  up  for  an  hour  against  the  current,  so  as  to 
pass  tl^  head  of  this  island,  and  not  fall  below  Egas.  At  half-past  eight 
we  entered  a  narrow  channel  between  a  small  island  and  the  right  bank, 
which  conducted  us  into  the  river  of  Tefi'e,  about  a  mile  inside  of  its 
mouth.  The  river  at  this  point  is  one  hundred  and  eighty  yards  broad; 
water  clear  and  apparently  deep.  Just  below  Egas,  where  we  arrived  at 
half-past  ten,  it  expands  into  a  lake  ;  or,  rather,  the  lake  here  contracts 
into  the  river.  The  town  is  situated  on  a  low  point  that  stretches  out 
into  the  lake,  and  has  a  harbor  on  each  side  of  it.  The  point  rises  into 
a  regular  slope,  covered  with  grass,  to  the  woods  behind.  The  lake  is 
shallow,  and  is  sometimes,  with  the  exception  of  two  or  three  channels, 
which  have  always  six  or  eight  feet  of  water  in  them,  entirely  dry  from 
Egas  to  Nogueyra,  a  small  village  on  the  opposite  side. 

On  landing  we  showed  our  passports  to  the  sub-delegado,  an  officer  of 
the  general  government  who  has  charge  of  the  police  of  the  district,  and 
to  the  military  commandant,  and  forthwith  inducted  ourselves  into  the 
house  of  M.  Fort,  our  French  .friend  of  Tabatinga,  who  had  placed  it  at 
our  disposal. 


250  EGAS. 


CHAPTER  XIII, 

Egas — Trade — Lake  Coari — Mouth  of  Kio  Negro — Barra — Trade — Productions. 

Egas  has  a  population  of  about  eight  hundred  inhabitants,  and  is  the 
largest  and  most  thriving  place  above  Barra.  It  occupies  an  important 
position  with  regard  to  the  trade  of  the  river,  being  nearly  midway  be- 
tween Barra  and  Loreto,  (the  Peruvian  frontier,)  and  near  the  mouths 
of  the  great  rivers  Jurua,  Japura,  and  Teffe. 

There  are  now  eight  or  ten  commercial  houses  at  Egas  that  drive  a 
tolerably  brisk  trade  between  Peru  and  Para,  besides  employing  agents 
to  go  into  the  neighboring  rivers  and  collect  from  the  Indians  the  pro- 
ductions of  the  land  and  the  water. 

Trade  is  carried  on  in  schooners  of  between  thirty  and  forty  tons  bur- 
den, which  commonly  average  five  months  in  the  round  trip  between 
Egas  and  Para,  a  distance  of  fourteen  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  with  an 
expense  (consisting  of  pay  and  support  of  crew,  with  some  small  provin- 
cial and  church  taxes)  of  about  one  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  M.  Cas- 
telnau  estimates  these  provincial  and  church  taxes  at  about  thirteen  per 
cent,  on  the  whole  trade.  Here  is  the  bill  of  lading  of  such  a  vessel 
bound  down  :  150  arrobas  of  sarsaparilla  :  cost  at  Egas,  $4  the  ^roba ; 
valued  in  Pard  at  from  $7  to  $7  50.  300  pots  manteiga :  ^ost  at  Egas, 
|1  40  the  pot;  value  in  Para,  |2  50  to  $3  50.  200  arrobas  of  salt  fish: 
cost  at  Egas,  50  cents  the  arroba ;  value  in  Para,  $1  to  $1  25. 

Thus  it  appears  that  the  cargo,  which  cost  at  Egas  about  thirteen 
hundred  dollars,  is  sold  in  Para,  in  two  months,  for  twenty-six  hundred 
dollars.  The  vessel  then  tates  in  a  cargo  of  coarse  foreign  goods  worth 
there  twenty-five  hundred  dollars,  which  she  sells,  in  three  months,  in 
Egas,  at  twenty  per  cent,  advance  on  Para  prices  ;  making  a  profit  of 
six  hundred  and  twenty-five  dollars.  This  added  to  the  thirteen  hun- 
dred of  profit  on  the  down  trip,  and  deducting  the  one  hundred  and 
fifty  of  expenses,  will  give  a  gain  of  seventeen  hundred  and  seventy -five 
dollars  in  five  months,  which  is  about  two  hundred  and  seventy-five  dol- 
lars more  than  the  schooner  costs. 

There  are  five  such  vessels  engaged  in  this  trade,  each  making  two 

.  trips  a  year ;  so  that  the  value  of  the  tr/ide  between  Pard  and  Egas 

may  be  estimated  at  thirty-eight  thousand  dollars  annually.    Between 


.  TRADE.  251 

Egas  and  Peru,  it  is  about  twenty  thousand  dollars.  I  myself  know  of 
about  ten  thousand  dollars  on  its  way,  or  about  to  be  on  its  way  up.  A 
schooner  came  in  to-day  ninety-two  days  from  Para,  which  is  bound  up 
with  a  greater  part  of  its  cargo.  I  met  one  belonging  to  Guerrero  at 
Fonteboa.  Marcus  WilHams,  a  young  American  Hving  at  Barra,  has 
one  now  off  the  mouth  of  the  river,  which  has  sent  a  boat  in  for  provi- 
sions and  stores ;  and  Batalha  himself  is  about  to  send  two. 

Major  Batalha  (for  my  friend  commands  a  battalion  of  the  Guarda 
Policial  of  the  province  divided  between  San  Paulo,  San  Antonio,  Egas, 
and  Coari)  complains,  as  all  do,  of  the  want  of  energy  of  the  people. 
He  says  that  as  long  as  a  man  can  get  a  bit  of  turtle  or  salt  fish  to  eat, 
a  glass  of  cacacha,  and  a  cotton  shirt  and  trousers,  he  will  not  work. 
The  men  who  fish  and  make  manteiga,  although  they  are  employed  but 
a  small  portion  of  the  year  in  this  occupation,  will  do  nothing  else. 
There  is  wanting  an  industrious  and  active  population,  who  know  what 
the  comforts  of  life  are,  and  who  have  artificial  wants  to  draw  out  the 
great  resources  of  the  country. 

Although  the  merchants  sell  their  foreign  goods  at  an  advance  of 
twenty-five  per  cent,  on  the  cost  at  Para,  yet  this  is  on  credit ;  and 
they  say  they  could  do  much  better  if  they  could  sell  at  fifteen  per  cent. 
for  cash.  Moreover,  in  this  matter  of  credit  they  have  no  security. 
When  a  trader  has  made  suflScient  money  to  enable  him  to  leave  off 
work  with  his  own  hands,  the  custom  is  for  him  to  supply  some  young 
dependant  with  a  boat-load  of  goods  and  a  crew,  and  send  him  away 
to  trade  with  the  Indians,  depending  upon  his  success  and  honesty  for 
the  payment  of  the  twenty-five  per  cent.  The  young  trader  has  no 
temptation  to  desert  or  abandon  his  patron,  {liahilitador ;)  but  much  is 
lost  from  the  dangers  incident  to  the  navigation,  and  the  want  of 
judgment  and  discretion  in  the  intercourse  of  the  employer  with  the 
Indians,  and  in  the  hostile  disposition  of  the  Indians  themselves. 

There  is  much  in  this  life  of  the  "Aafti7itoc?o,"  or  person  employed 
by  the  traders,  to  attract  the  attention  of  the  active,  energetic  young 
men  of  our  country.  It  is  true  that  he  will  encounter  much  hard- 
ship and  some  danger.  These,  however,  are  but  stimulants  to  youth. 
It  is  also  true  that  he  will  meet  with  a  feeling  of  jealousy  in  the  native 
towards  the  foreigner;  but  this  feeling  is  principally  directed  towards 
the  Portuguese,  who  are  hard-working,  keen,  and  clever;  and  Avho,  as 
a  general  rule,  go  to  that  country  to  make  money,  and  return  home 
with  it.  Tliis  is  their  leading  idea,  and  it  makes  them  frugal,  even 
penurious,  in  their  habits,  and  indisposes  them  to  make  common  cause 
with  the  natives  of  the  country.    Not  so  with  the  Italians,  the  French, 


252  THE    TAPUIOS.  , 

the  Englisli,  and  the  Americixns,  whom  I  have  met  with  in  this  country. 
I  do  not  know  more  popular  people  than  my  friends  Enrique  Antonii, 
the  Italian,  and  his  associate,  Marcus  Williams,  the  Yankee,  who  are 
established  at  Barra.  Everywhere  on  the  river  I  heard  sounded  the 
praises  of  my  countryman.  At  Sarayacu,  at  Nauta,  at  Peba.s,  and  at 
Egas,  men  said  they  wished  to  see  him  again  and  to  trade  with  him. 
He  himself  told  me  that,  tliough  the  trade  on  the  river  was  attended 
with  hardships,  exposure,  and  privation,  there  was  a  certain  charm 
attending  the  wild  life,  and  its  freedom  from  restraint,  that  would 
always  prevent  any  desire  on  his  part  to  return  to  his  native  country. 
I  heard  that  he  carried  this  feeling  so  far  as  to  complain  bitterly,  when 
he  visited  Norris,  the  consul  at  Para,  of  the  restraints  of  society  that 
compelled  him  to  wear  trousers  at  dinner. 

Any  number  of  peons,  or  as  they  are  called  in  Brazil,  Tajmios,  may 
be  had  for  an  almost  nominal  rate  of  pay  for  this  traffic  with  the 
Indians. 

All  the  christianized  Indians  of  the  province  of  Par.l  (which,  until 
within  the  last  two  or  three  years,  comprehended  all  the  Brazilian 
territory  drained  by  the  Amazon  and  the  lower  part  of  its  tributaries 
on  each  side,  but  from  which  has  been  lately  cut  off  and  erected  into  a 
new  province  the  Comarca  of  Alto  Amazonas,  comprising  the  Brazilian 
territory'  between  Barra  and  Tabatinga)  are  registered  and  compelled 
to  serve  the  State,  either  as  soldiers  of  the  Guarda  Policial,  or  as  a 
member  of  "Bodies  of  Laborers,"  [Corposde  Trabulhadores,)  distributed 
among  the  different  territorial  divisions  (comarcas)  of  the  province. 
There  are  nine  of  these  bodies,  numbering  in  the  aggregate  seven 
thousand  four  hundred  and  forty-four,  with  one  hundred  and  eighty- 
two  officers.  A  better  desc-ription  of  the  origin  and  character  of  these 
bodies  of  laborers  cannot  be  given  than  is  given  in  the  message  to  the 
Provincial  Assembly  of  the  President  of  the  Province,  Jeronimo  Fran- 
cisco Coelho,  for  the  year  1849.  This  distinguished  official,  whoso 
patriotism,  talents,  and  energy  are  still  spoken  of  with  enthusijuim 
throughout  the  province,  says: 

"A  sentiment  of  morality  and  of  order,  created  by  the  impression  of 
deplorable  and  calamitous  facts,  gave  birth  to  this  establishment;  but 
abuse  hsis  converted  it  into  a  means  of  servitude  and  private  gain. 
The  principal  objeot  of  the  law  which  created  it  was  to  give  employ- 
ment to  an  excessive  number  of  tapuios,  negriHjs,  and  mestizos — jx  uple 
void  of  civilization  and  edu<'ation,  and  who  excet'dud  in  number  the 
worthy,  laborious,  and  industrious  part  of  the  population  by  more  than- 
three-quarters.    This  law  founded,  in  some  measure,  a  system  which 


THK    TAPUIOS.  253 

appeared  to  anticipate  the  theory  of  the  organization  of  labor.  In 
Europe  this  is  a  desideratum  among  the  inferior  classes  of  the  commu- 
nity, who  are  oppressed  by  want,  by  pauperism,  and  by  famine.  For 
these  to  have  work,  is  to  have  the  bread  of  life  and  happiness ;  but  in 
the  fertile  provinces  of  Para,  where  nature  gives  to  all,  with  spontaneous 
superabimdance,  the  necessaries  of  lifos  work  is  held  by  th^^^^e  cln^ops  to 
be  an  imnecessary  and  intolerable  constraint.  Our  Tapuio,  who  erects 
his  palm-leaf  hut  on  the  margin  of  the  lakes  and  rivers  that  are  filled 
with  fish,  surrounded  with  forests  rich  with  fruits,  drugs,  and  spices,  and 
abounding  in  an  infinite  variety  of  game,  lives  careless  and  at  his  ease 
in  the  lap  S?  abundance.  If  these  circumstances  give  him  a  dispensa- 
tion from  voluntary  labor,  with  what  repugnance  and  dislike  will  he 
render  himself  to  compulsory  toil,  and  especially  when  the  obligation 
to  work,  imposed  by  the  law,  has  so  generally  been  converted  into  vexa- 
tious speculation  by  abuse ! 

"Last  year  I  gave  my  opinion  to  you  at  length  upon  this  subject :  I 
will  not  now  tire  you  .with  a  repetition.  A  very  general  idea  prevails 
that  the  best  method  to  do  away  with  the  abuses  of  this  institution  of 
laborers  is  its  total  abolition.  But  remember  that  the  adoption  of  this 
measure  imposes  upon  you  a  rigorous  obligation  to  have  a  care  of,  and 
give  direction  (dar  destino)  to,  nearly  sixty  thousand  men,  who,  deprived 
by  the  law  of  political  rights,  without  any  species  of  systematic  subjec- 
tion, unemployed,  and  delivered  up  to  their  own  guidance,  and  to  an 
indolent  and  unbridled  life,  live  floating  among  the  useful  and  laborious 
part  of  the  population,  who  are  in  a  most  disproportionate  minority. 

"  Your  penetration  and  wisdom  will  find  a  means  which  will  guaranty 
protection  to  one,  security  to  the  other,  and  justice  to  all.  A  convenient 
law,  based  upon  a  regular  enlistment,  moderate  employment  in  cases, 
and  at  places  well  defined,  and  subjection  to  certain  and  designated  local 
authorities,  may  give  this  means  ;  and  it  was  upon  these  principles  that 
I  formed  the  project,  which  I  presented  to  you  last  year,  of  converting  the 
corps  of  laborers  into  municipal  companies,  to  be  added  to  the  battalions  of 
the  Nacional  Guard.  But  said  project  depended  upon  the  reorganiza- 
tion of  this  guard ;  and  this  failing,  it  of  course  fell  through. 

"  The  question  relative  to  the  corps  of  laborers  is,  as  I  have  said,  a 
problem  of  difficult  solution,  but  which  must  necessarily  be  solved. 
The  how  and  the  when  belongs  to  you." 

It  is  from  these  bodies  that  the  trader,  the  traveller,  or  the  collector 
of  the  fruits  of  the  country,  is  furnished  with  laborers  ;  but,  as  is  seen 
from  the  speech  of  the  President,  little  care  is  taken  by  the  government 
officials  in  their  registry  or  proper  government,  and   a  majority  of  them 


254  CHRISTMAS  IX  EGAS. 

are  either  entire  drones,  or  have  become,  in  fact,  the  slaves  of  inm- 
viduals.  It  is  now  diflicult  for  the  passing  traveller  to  get  a  boat's 
crew;  though  I  have  no  doubt  that  judicious  and  honest  dealing  Vith 
them  would  restore  to  civilization  and  to  labor  many  who  have  retired 
from  the  towns  and  gone  back  to  a  nomadic,  and  nearly  savage  life. 

Most  of  the  leading  men  at  E^;is  own  negro  slaves  ;  but  these  are  gen- 
erally employed  in  household  and  domestic  work.  A  young  negro  man 
is  worth  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars — if  a  mechanic,  five  hundred 
dollars.  Major  P-atalha  tells  me  that  he  will  purchase  no  more  slaves; 
he  has  had  ill-luck  both  with  them  and  with  his  Tapuois.  The  slaves 
desert  to  Spain,  (as  Peru,  Ecuador,  and  New  Grana«.la  ard*called  here,) 
and  he  has  lost  six  Tapuios,  by  a  sort  of  bloo<ly  fliix,  within  the  last  two 
months.  I  asked  him  if  the  disease  was  confined  to  his  household ; 
but  he  told  me  that  it  was  general,  and  supposed  that  it  was  caused  by 
drinking  the  water  of  the  lake,  which  was  thought  to  be,  in  some  small 
degree,  impregnated  with  the  poisonous  milk  of  the  assacu,  (the 
Peruvian  catao,)  many  of  which  trees  grow  on^ts  borders.  I  have  no 
idea  that  this  is  the  cause,  but  suppose  the  disease  originates  from  ex- 
posure, bad  ^od,  and  an  imprudent  use  of  fruit,  thongh  I  see  no  fruit 
except  a  few  oranges  and  limes.  It  is  even  difficult  to  purchase  a 
bunch  of  bananas.  There  are  no  other  diseases  in  Egas  except  toiliana, 
caught  in  gathering  sarsaparilla  on  the  tributaries. 

December  25. — We  are  very  gay  at  Egas  with  Christmivs  times.  The 
people  keep  it  up  with  spirit,  and  with  a  good  deal  of  f^pirits,  too,  for  I 
see  a  number  of  drunken  people  in  the  streets.  I  attended  midnight 
mass  last  night.  The  chinch  was  filled  with  well  dressed  jHople,  arid 
with  some  very  pretty,  though  dark-eomplexiuned  ladies.  The  congre- 
gation was  devout,  but  I  could  not  very  well  be  so,  on  account  of  the 
music,  which  was  made  by  a  hand-organ  that  wouldn't  play.  It  gave 
a  S(jueak  and  a  grunt  now  and  then,  but  there  were  parts  of  the  music 
when  nothing  could  be  heard  but  the  turning  of  the  handle.  There  wjis 
also  a  proce.ssion  on  the  lake.  A  large,  very  well  illuniinated  boat,  with 
roekets  and  music  moving  about,  and  a  long  line  of  lights  on  logs  or 
canoes  anchored  in  the  lake,  had  a  very  ]>retty  effect.  Processions  of 
negroes,  men  and  women,  with  songs  and  nm.sic  of  laml'Muriues  and 
.  drums,  were  parading  the  streets  all  night. 

The  higher  cla-wes  are  taking  a  little  Champagno,  icnvriljj  wine,  or 
Engli.sh  ale.  fiiiiger  beer  is  a  favorite  and  wholesome  drink  in  this 
climate.  I  was  surprised  to  see  no  cider.  I  wonder  some  Yankee  from 
below  has  not  thought  to  s<mh1  it  up.  Yankee  clocks  abound,  and  are 
worth  from  ten  to  twenty  dollars. 


ALLIGATORS.  255 

December  2G. — I  had  requested  the  commandante-militar  to  furnish  me 
with  a  few  more  Tapuios,  and  he  had  promised  to  send  out  an  expedition 
to  catch  me  some.  He  now  says  there  are  none  to  be  had;  but  I  suspect 
he  gave  himself  no  trouble  about  it.  Many  persons  go  down  the  rivor 
with  only  two  rowers  and  a  steersman ;  and  I  having  six,  I  ha\Je  no 
doubt  he  thought  that  I  had  a  sufficient  number. 

My  Ticunas,  and  the  negro  soldier  sent  with  them,  gave  me  a  great 
deal  of  trouble — the  soldier  with  his  drunkenness  and  dishonesty,  and  the 
Indians  by  their  laziness  and  carelessness ;  suffering  the  boat  to  be  in- 
jured for  the  want  of  care,  and  permitting  the  escape  and  destruction  of 
my  animals  and  birds.  It  is  as  much  as  my  patience  and  forbearance 
towards  a  suffering  and  ill-treated  people  can  stand,  to  refrain  from  re- 
porting them  to  the  commandant,  who  would  probably  punish  them 
with  severity.  Last  night  they  broke  the  leg  of  one  of  my  tuyuyiis,  and 
an  alligator  carried  oft'  the  other.  I  am  told  that  these  animals  have 
killed  three  persons  at  this  same  place.  I  had  bathed  there  twice  a  day 
until  I  heard  this ;  but  after  that,  although  I  knew  that  they  only  seize 
their  prey  at  night,  it  was  going  too  close  to  danger,  and  I  chose  an- 
other place. 

I  saw  a  very  peculiar  monkey  at  Egas.  It  is  called  Acaris,  and  has 
a  face  of  a  very  pretty  rose  color.  The  one  I  saw  here  was  nearly  as 
large  as  a  common  baboon.  He  had  long  hair,  of  a  dirty-white  color, 
and  was  evidently  very  old.  Two  that  I  saw  at  a  factoria,  on  a  beach 
of  the  Amazon,  had  hair  of  a  reddish-yellow  color;  the  tail  is  very 
short.  Castelnau  says  that  the  vermilion  color  of  the  face  disappears 
after  death ;  and  during  life  it  varies  in  intensity,  according  to  the  state 
of  the  passions  of  the  animal.  The  owners  would  not  sell  me  those  at 
the  factoria,  and  I  would  not  buy  the  one  at  Egas,  because  his  face  was 
blotched  with  some  cutaneous  affection,  and  he  was  evidently  so  old  that 
he  would  soon  die. 

During  our  stay  at  Egas  we  had  our  meals  cooked  by  an  old  negro 
woman  who  has  charge  of  M.  Fort's  house,  furnishing  her  with  money 
to  buy  what  she  could.  It  is  very  difficult  to  get  anything  but  turtle 
even  here.  I  counted  thirty-nine  cattle  grazing  on  the  green  slope 
before  our  door;  yet  neither  for  love  nor  money  could  we  get  any  beef, 
and  with  difficulty  a  little  milk  for  our  coffee.  "We  sent  to  Nogueyra 
for  fowls  and  eggs,  but  without  success.  These  are  festival  times,  and 
people  want  their  little  luxuries  themselves,  or  are  too  busily  engaged  in 
frolicking  to  care  about  selling. 

Major  Batalha  treated  us  with  great  kindness,  sending  us  delicacies 
from  his  own  table — the  greatest  of  whicJi  was  some  well-made  bread. 


256  THE    SARAYACU   BOATMEN. 

We  bad  not  tasted  any  since  leaving  Iluanuco — now  five  months ;  and 
of  course  it  was  very  welcome.  On  Christraiis  day  he  sent  us  a  pair  of 
fine,  large,  sponge-cakes.  A  piece  of  these,  with  a  glass  of  tolei«ble  ale, 
was  a  princely  luncheon  to  us  wayfarere,  who  h;id  lived  so  long  on  salt 
fish  and  farinha.  It  fairly  made  Ijurra  giin  with  delight.  We  could 
always  net  a  cup  of  very  good  chocolate  hy  walking  round  to  the 
Major's  house ;  and  the  only  thing  I  had  to  find  fault  with  was,  that 
I  was  always  received  in  the  shop.  The  Brazilians,  as  a  general  rule, 
do  not  like  to  introduce  foreigners  to  their  families,  and  their  wives  lead 
a  monotonous  and  somewhat  secluded  life. 

An  intelligent  and  spirited  lady  friend  told  me  that  the  customs  of 
her  country  confined  and  restrained  her  more  than  was  agreeable,  and 
said,  with  a  smile,  that  she  would  not  like  to  say  how  much  she  had 
been  influenced  in  the  choice  of  a  husband  by  the  hope  that  she  would 
remove  to  another  country,  where  she  might  see  something,  learn  some- 
thing, and  be  somebody. 

December  28. — We  left  Egas  at  half-past  2  p.  m.,  in  the  rain.  We 
seemed  to  have  travelled  just  ahead  of  the  rainy  season  ;  and  whenever 
•we  have  stopped  at  any  place  for  some  days,  the  rains  have  caught  up 
with  us. 

I  now  parted  with  my  Sarayacu  boatmen,  and  very  sorry  I  was  to 
lose  them.  They  were  lazy  enough,  but  were  active  and  diligent  com- 
pared with  the  stupid  and  listless  Ticunas.  They  were  always  (though 
somewhat  careless)  faithful  and  obedient.  I  believe  that  the  regret  at 
parting  was  mutual.  Their  earnest  tone  of  voice  and  affectionate  man- 
ner proclaimed  their  feeling ;  and  a  courtier,  addressing  his  sovereign, 
would  have  envied  the  style  in  which  old  Andres  bent  his  knee  and 
kissed  my  hand,  and  the  tremulous  tones,  indicating  deep  feeling,  with 
which  he  uttered  the  words  "yl  dios,  mi  patron^  They  arc  all  going 
back  to  Sarayacu  but  one,  who  has  engaged  himself  to  Senhor  Batalha. 
It  is  a  curious  thing  that  so  many  Peruvian  Indians  should  be  working 
in  Brazil ;  but  it  shows  that  they  are  removed  above  the  condition  of 
eavages,  for,  though  worse  treated  in  Brazil,  and  deprived  of  the  entire 
freedom  of  action  they  have  in  Peini,  yet  they  are  paid  something;  they 
acquire  property,  though  it  be  nothing  more  than  a  painteil  wooden 
box  with  hinges  and  a  lock  to  it,  (the  thing  they  most  covet,)  with  a 
colored  shirt  and  trousers  to  lock  up  in  it  and  guard  for  feast-days. 
With  such  a  box  and  contents,  a  hatchet,  a  short  sabre,  and  red  woollen 
cap,  the  I'eruvian  Indian  returns  home  a  rich  and  envied  man,  and 
others  are  induced  to  r/o  heloto  in  hopes  of  similar  fortune.  They  are 
frequently  gone  from  their  homes  for  years.     Father  Calvo  complained 


THE    BOILING    POINT.  257 

that  ttey  abandoned  their  families ;  but  in  my  judgment  this  was  a  benefit 
to  them,  rather  than  an  injury,  for  the  man  at  home  is,  in  a  great 
measure,  supported  by  the  woman. 

T  could  not  make  an  estimate  of  the  number  of  Peruvian  Indians  in 
Brazil ;  but  I  noticed  that  most  of  the  tapuios  were  Cocamas  and 
Cocamillas,  from  the  upper  Amazon. 

We  entered  the  Amazon  at  4  p.  m.  The  mouth  of  the  Tefle  is  three 
hundred  yards  wide,  and  has  thirty  feet  of  depth  and  one  mile  per  hour 
of  current.  This  is  an  inconsiderable  stream,  and  may  be  ascended  by 
canoes  to  near  its  sources  in  twenty  days.  In  ten  or  twelve  days'  ascent, 
a  branch  called  the  Rio  Gancho  is  reached,  which  communicates  by  a 
portage  with  the  Jurud.  Indians  of  the  Purus,  also,  sometimes  descend 
the  Teffe  to  Egas. 

I  was  surprised  to  find  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  at  Egas  to 
be  but  208°. 2,  the  same  within  .2  of  a  degree  that  it  was  at  a  point 
one  day's  journey  below  Tingo  Maria,  which  village  is  several  hundred 
miles  above  the  last  rapids  of  the  Iluallaga  river  ;  at  8ta.  Cruz,  two  days 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Huallaga,  it  was  211°.2;  at  Nauta,  three 
hundred  and  five  miles  below  this,  it  was  211°.3  ;  at  Pebas,  one  hundred 
and  seventy  miles  below  Nauta,  211°.l.  I  was  so  much  surprised  at 
these  results  that  I  had  put  the  apparatus  away,  thinking  that  its  indi- 
cations were  valueless ;  but  I  was  still  more  surprised,  upon  making  the 
experiment  at  Egas,  to  find  that  the  temperature  of  the  boiling  water 
had  fallen  three  degrees  below  what  it  was  at  Sta.  Cruz,  thus  giving  to 
Egas  an  altitude  of  fifteen  hundred  feet  above  that  village,  which  is 
situated  more  than  a  thousand  miles  up  stream  of  it.  I  continued  my 
observations  from  Egas  downwards,  and  found  a  regular  increase  in  the 
temperature  of  the  boiling  water  until  our  arrival  at  Para,  where  it 
was  211°.5. 

M.  Castelnau  gives  the  height  of  Nauta  at  four  hundred  and  five  feet 
above  the  level  of  the  sea ;  the  temperature  of  boiling  water  gives  it  at 
three  hundred  and  fifty-six.  Both  these,  I  think,  are  in  error ;  for,  taking 
off"  forty  feet  for  the  height  of  the  hill  on  which  Nauta  is  situated,  we  have 
three  hundred  and  sixty-five  for  the  height  of  the  river  at  that  point 
above  the  level  of  the  sea.  Now,  that  point  I  estimate  at  two  thousand 
three  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  from  the  sea,  which  would  give  the 
river  only  a  fall  of  about  sixteen-hundredths  of  a  foot  per  mile — a  de- 
scent which  would  scarcely  give  the  river  its  average  velocity  of  two 
and  a  half  miles  per  hour. 

From  an  after-investigation,  I  am  led  to  believe  that  the  cause  of  this 
phenomenon  arises  from  the  fact  that  the  trade-winds  are  dammed 
17 


25S  LAKE    COARI. 

up  by  the  Andes,  and  that  the  atmosphere  in  those  parts  is,  from  thU 
cause,  compressed,  and  consequently  heavier  than  it  is  farther  from  the 
mountains,  though  over  a  less  elevated  portion  of  the  eartt.  The 
discovery  of  this  fact  has  led  me  to  place  little  reliance  in  the  indica- 
tions of  the  barometer  for  elevation  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Audeft. 
It  is  reasonable,  however,  to  suppose  that  this  cause  would  no  longer 
operate  at  Egas,  nearly  one  thousand  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Huallaga. 

I  shall,  therefore,  give  the  height  of  Egas  above  the  level  of  tlie  sea, 
from  the  temperature  of  boiling  -water,  (208^^.2,)  at  two  thousand  and 
fifty-two  feet.  Egas  is  about  eighteen  hundred  miles  from  the  sea ;  this 
would  give  the  river  a  descent  of  a  little  more  than  a  foot  per  mile, 
which  would  about  give  it  its  current  of  two  and  a  half  miles  per  hour. 
December  29. — We  drifted  with  the  current,  and  a  little  paddling  on' 
the  part  of  the  crew,  until  10  p.  ni.,  when  we  made  fast  to  a  tree  on  the 
right  bank. 

December  30. — Wo  started  at  5  a.  m.  At  3  p.  m.,  where  the  ( 
river  was  quite  a  mile  wide,  I  found  but  thirty  feet  in  mid-channel; 
and  about  two  hundred  yards  on  our  right  hand  was  a  patch  of  gra,ss, 
vrith  trees  grounded  on  it.  At  G  p.  m.,  I  judged  from  the  appearance 
of  the  shores  on  each  side  (bold,  red  clills)  that  we  had  all  the  width  of 
the  river.  It  was  only  about  a  mile  wide,  and  I  thought  it  would  be 
very  deep ;  but  I  found  only  sixty  feet..  I  could  not  try  the  current  for 
the  violence  of  the  wind.  At  seven  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the 
Lake  Coari,  one  hundred  and  fifteen  miles  from  Egas,  and  made  fast  to  a 
schooner  at  anchor  near  the  right  bank. 

This  schooner  seemed  to  have  no  particular  owner  or  captain,  but  to 
be  manned  by  a  company  of  adventurers ;  for  all  appeared  on  an  equal- 
ity. They  were  from  Obidos,  upwards  of  two  months ;  and  twenty-eight 
days  from  Barra,  which  place  we  reached  from  here  in  five.  They 
were  travelling  at  tiieir  leisure,  but  ctunplained  much  of  the  strength  of 
the  current  and  the  want  of  strength  of  tlio  ea.steriy  winds.  1  heard 
the  same  complaints  at  Ega.s,  but  I  have  found  the  winds  quite  fresh 
from  the  eastward,  and  the  current,  compared  with  that  above,  slight. 
But  there  is  a  wonderful  diflerenco  in  the  estimation  of  a  current,  or 
the  strength  of  a  wind,  wlien  voyaging  with  and  against  them. 

The  fault  of  the  vessels  navigating  the  Amazon  is  the  breadth  of 
beam  and  want  of  sail.  I  am  confident  that  a  clipper-built  vessel, 
sloop,  or  rather  ketch-rigged,  with  a  largo  mainsail,  topsail,  topgallant- 
sail,  and  studding  sails — the  last  three  fitted  to  set  going  up  before  the 
wind,  and  to  strike,  masts  and  all,  so  as  to  beat  down  with  the  current 


LAKE    COARI.  259 

undev  mainsail,  jib,  and  jigger — would  make  good  passages  between 
Para,  and  Egas.  The  vessels  used  now  on  the  river  are  built  broad  and 
flat-bottomed,  to  warp  along  shore  when  the  wind  is  light  or  contrary. 
Their  sails  are  much  too  small,  and  are  generally  made  of  thin,  bad 
material. 

December  31 — We  pulled  into  the  Lake  of  Coari ;  but  being  told 
that  it  would  take  nearly  all  day  to  reach  the  village  of  Coari,  and  that 
it  was  an  insignificant  place,  where  I  would  get  neither  supplies  nor  in- 
formation, I  decided  not  to  go. 

It  may  seem  strange  that  just  out  of  Egas  I  should  need  supplies,  but 
all  I  could  purchase  there  were  half  a  dozen  fowls,  four  turtles,  and 
some  farinha ;  and  upon  opening  the  baskets  of  farinha,  it  was  found 
to  be  so  old  and  sour  that,  though  the  Indians  could  eat  it,  I  could  not; 
and  thus  we  had  no  bread,  nor  even  the  substitute  for  it — plantains  and 
farinha  ;  and  had  to  eat  our  meat  with  some  dried  peas  that  we  fortu- 
nately found  at  Egas. 

The  entrance  to  the  Lake  of  Coari  is  about  four  hundred  yards 
wide,  and  half  a  mile  long.  It  expands,  particularly  on  the  right  hand, 
suddenly  into  the  lake,  which  at  once  shows  itself  six  or  seven  miles 
wide,  having  a  large  island  extending  apparently  nearly  across  it. 
The  entrance  has  forty-two  feet  of  depth  in  the  middle,  and,  being 
faced  by  an  island  at  both  mouths,  (the  one  into  the  lake,  the  other 
into  the  river,)  appears  land-locked,  and  makes  a  beautiful  harbor. 
The  banks  are  very  low,  of  a  thin,  sandy  soil,  covered  with  bushes; 
and  the  right  bank  is  perforated  with  small  channels,  running  into  the 
Amazon,  The  water  of  the  lake  is  beautifully  clear,  and  of  a  brown 
color;  it  runs  into  the  Amazon  at  the  rate  of  three-fourths  of  a  mile 
per  hour. 

We  pulled  up  the  right  bank  of  the  lake  about  a  mile,  and  stopped 
at  a  little  settlement  of  ten  or  twelve  houses,  but  could  get  nothing. 
The  people  seemed  afraid  of  us,  and  shut  their  doors  in  our  faces.  The 
lieutenant,  or  principal  man  of  the  place,  said  that  if  we  would  give 
him  money,  he  would  send  out  and  get  us  some  fowls  and  plantains ; 
but  as  he  was  a  little  drunk  at  tliis  hour,  (seven  in  the  morning,)  I  would 
not  trust  him.     We  breakfasted,  and  sailed  at  11. 

We  passed  several  small  streams  coming  into  the  river  on  the  right 
bank.  Some  of  these  are  probably  "  Furos,''  or  small  mouths  of  the 
Purus.  Iganipe  is  the  Ind>an  name  for  a  creek  or  ditch,  which  is  filled 
with  "  back-water  "  from  the  river ;  and  the  term  Paranamiri  (literally, 
little  river)  is  applied  to  a  narrow  arm  of  the  main  river,  running  be- 
tween the  main  bank  and  an  island  near  to  it. 


260  THE    CODAJASH. 

January  1,  1852. — At  9  a.  m.  we  had  the  easterly  breeze  so  strcmg 
that  we  were  compelled  to  keep  close  in  sliore  to  avoid  the  sea  raised 
by  it.  Our  heavy  flat-bottomed  boat  rolls  nearly  yunwales  under.  Some 
of  the  Indians  look  alarmed,  and  Tomas,  a  servant  whom  we  brought 
from  Caballo-cocha,  is  frightened  from  all  propriety.  He  shouts  to  the 
men  to  make  for  the  land  ;  and,  seizing  a  paddle,  makes  one  or  two 
rigorous  strokes,  but  fear  takes  away  his  strength,  and  he  stretches  him- 
self on  his  face,  and  yields  to  what  appears  his  inevitable  destiny.  Ijurra 
is  much  scandalized  at  his  cowardice,  and  asks  him  what  he  would  do 
if  he.  got  upon  the  sea. 

At  12  m.  we  passed  another  mouth  of  the  Porus.  These  mouths  can 
only  be  navigated  at  higl^water,  and  in  small  canoes.  At  half-past  four 
■we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  Codajask.  We  were  on  the  opposite  side 
of  the  river,  and  had  nearly  passed  before  I  was  aware  of  it.  Smytli 
plac'.'S  the  islands  of  Coro  and  On^a  above  it.  They  are  really  below. 
Th'  mouth  appeared  a  quarter  of  a  mile  wide ;  but,  I  was  afterwards 
told  that  this  was  not  the  largest  mouth,  and  that  the  true  mouth  lay 
opposite  to  the  island  of  Coro.  I  learned  from  some  persons  who  were 
engaged  in  salting  fish  upon  a  small  sand  island  just  below  this  mouth, 
(one  of  whom  had  visited  it,)  that  it  is  an  arm  of  the  river  communi- 
cating with  a  largo  lake  abojinding  with  fish,  vaca  marina,  and  turtle ; 
and  had  growing  on  its  shores  many  resins  and  oils,  particularly  the 
copaiba.  It  requires  three  days  to  a^^cend  the  arm  of  the  river  to  the 
lake,  and  two  more  to  reach  the  head  of  the  lake,  which  is  fed  by  small 
streams  that  are  said  to  communicate  with  the  Japurii,  on  one  hand, 
and  the  Rio  Negro,  on  the  other. 

The  Amazon,  at  this  little  island,  comraenced  falling  day  before 
yesterday.  A  boat  which  arrived  at  Egas  from  Tabatinga  the  day  be- 
fore we  left  there,  reported  that  the  river  had  commenced  falling  at 
Tabatinga  on  the  twentieth  of  December.  This  is  probably  the  fall  duo 
to  the  "Verano  del  Nino"  of  the  Cordillera,  and  will  only  last  a  week 
or  ten  days,  when  the  river  will  again  eommence  to  swell. 

At  seven  we  stopped  at  a  factoria  on  Coro  island,  where  Uie  party 
who  were  working  it  had  made  one  thousand  pots  of  manteigji,  and 
weri-  about  starting  for  below.  Camped  on  the  beach  on  right  bank 
at  half-past  1 1  p.  m. 

January  2. — The  usual  fresh  easterly  wind  commenced  at  nine. 
The  only  time  to  make  progress  is  at  night ;  during  tlie  day  the  breeze 
is  so  freflh,  and  the  sea  so  high,  that  very  little  is  made.  Tlie  wind 
usually  subsides  about  4  or  5  p.  m.,  and  concludes  Mith  a  scjnall  of 
win'l  nud  rain  ;  Ifuvliitr  lii;ivv  lookiiiLr  tluiiHlcr  clouds  in  the  southward 


THE.  RIVER   PURUS.  261 

and  westward.     The  easterly  wind  often  rises  again,  and  blows  for  a 
few  hours  at  nicfht. 

January/  3.— We  stopped  to  breakfast  at  nine,  in  company  with  a 
schooner  bound  up.  She  was  three  months  from  Tark,  and  expected 
to  be  another  month  to  Egas.  Two  others  also  passed  us  at  a  distance 
this  morning.  We  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  Purus,  one  humlred 
and  forty-five  miles  from  Lake  Coari.  The  Amazon  is  a  mile  and  a 
half  wide  from  the  right  bank  to  the  island  of  Purus,  (which  is  opposite 
the  mouth  of  the  river.)  The  mouth  of  the  Purus  proper  is  three-quar- 
ters of  a  mile  wide  ;  though  a  little  bay  on  the  left,  and  the  trend  of  the 
right  bank  off  to  the  northeast,  make  the  two  outer  points  more  than  a 
mile  apart.  It  is  a  fine-looking  river,  with  moderately  bold  shores, 
masked  by  a  great  quantity  of  bushes  growing  in  the  water.  These 
bushes  bore  a  great  number  of  berries,  which,  when  ripe,  are  purple, 
and  about  the  size  of  a  fox-grape.  They  were,  at  this  time,  green  and 
red.     The  pulp  is  sweet,  and  is  eaten. 

The  water  of  the  river  is  of  the  same  color,  and  scarcely,  clearer,  than  . 
that  of  the  Amazon.  We  pulled  in  about  a  mile,  and  found  one  hun- 
dred and  eight  feet  of  water,  rather  nearer  the  left  than  the  right  bank, 
with  a  bottom  of  soft  blue  mud.  In  mid-stream  there  was  seventy  ■ 
eight  feet,  with  narrow  streaks  of  sand  and  mud.  la  the  strong  ripples 
formed  by  the  meeting  of  the  waters  of  the  two  river?,  we  found  uiiaety- 
six  feet ;  and  when  fairly  in  the  stream  of  the  Amazon,  one  hundred  and 
thirty-eight  feet.  I  am  thus  minute  in  the  soundings,  because,  accordino- 
to  Smyth,  Condamine  found  no  bottom  at  six  hundred  and  eighteen  feet. 
A  person  sounding  in  a  strong  tide-way  is  very  apt  to  be  deceived,  par- 
ticularly if  he  has  a  light  lead  and  the  bottom  is  soft ;  for  if  he  does  not 
feel  it  the  instant  the  lead  touches  the  bottom,  the  current  will  cause 
the  line  to  run  out  as  fast  as  the  lead  would  sink  ;  so  that  the  lead  may 
be  on  the  bottom,  and  yet  the  observer,  finding  the  line  not  checked, 
may  run  out  as  many  fathoms  as  he  has,  and  think  that  he  has  found 
no  bottom.  Ijurra  has  frequently  run  out  one  hundred  fothoms  where 
I  have  afterwards  found  fifteen  and  seventeen.  The  current  of  the 
Purus  is,  at  this  time,  very  sluggish — not  over  three-quarters  of  a  mile 
per  hour.  Temperature  of  the  water,  84|-°  ;  that  of  the  Amazon,  83°  ; 
and  the  air,  82°.  Diifted  with  the  current  all  night ;  beautifully  calm 
and  cl^r.  ^ 

January  4.— We  travelled  slowly  all  day,  on  account  of  the  fresh 
wind  and  sea.  At  7  p.  m.  we  stopped  at  the  village  of  Pesqitcra, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Lake  Manacapuru,  forty-five  miles  from  the  mouth 
of  the  Purus.  It  has  only  three  or  four  houses,  and  is  situated  on  a 
knee-cracking  eminence  of  one  hundred  feet  in  height.    The  entrance 


2G2  ENTRANCE    OF    THE    RIO    NEGRO.  , 

9 
to  tlie  lake  h  bold  and  wide — quite  three  hundred  yards  across — and 
with  no  bottom,  at  its  mouth,  in  one  hundred  and  twenty  feet. .  A  man 
at  Pesquera,  just  from  the  lake  with  a  cargo  of  manteiga,  and'boundto 
Pari,  told  me  that  it  was  two  days'  journey  to  the  opening  of  the  lake  ; 
that  the  lake  was  very  long,  and  about  as  wide  as  the  Amazon  at  this 
place,  (three  miles ;)  that  it  was  full  of  islands,  and  that  no  one  knew  its 
upper  extremity ;  but  that  it  was  reported  to  communicate  with  the  Ja- 
pura.  All  this  country  seems  cut  up  with  channels  from  river  to  river  ; 
but  I  believe  they  are  canoe  channels,  and  only  passable  for  theqi  at 
high  water.  In  many  instances  these  channels,  in  the  rainy  season, 
widen  out  into  lakes. 

The  banks  of  the  river  are  now  losing  the  character  of  savage  and 
desolate  solitude  that  characterizes  them  above,  and  begin  to  show  signs 
of  habitation  and  cultivation.  We  passed  to-day  several  farms,  with 
neatly  framed  and  plastered  houses,  and  a  schooner-rigged  vessel  lying 
oft'  several  of  them. 

January  5. — At  3  a.  m.  we  passed  a  rock  in  the  stream  called 
Calderon,  or  Big  Pot,  from  the  bubbling  and  boiling  of  the  water  over 
it  when  the  river  is  full.  At  this  time  the  rock  is  said  to  bo  six  or  eight 
feet  above  the  surface  of  the  water.  We  could  hear  the  rush  of  the 
water  against  it,  but  could  not  see  it  on  account  of  the  darkness  of  the 
night. 

We  stopped  two  hours  to  breakfast,  and  then  drifted  with  the  current 
broadside  to  the  wind,  (our  six  men  being  unable  to  keep  the  boat "  head 
to  it,")  until  four,  when  the  wind  went  down.  At  five  we  entered  the 
Rio  Negro.  We  were  made  aware  of  our  approach  to  it  before  getting 
into  the  mouth.  The  right  bank  at  the  mouth  is  broken  into  islands, 
and  the  black  water  of  the  Negro  runs  through  the  channels  between 
these  islands  and  alternates,  in  patches,  (refusing  to  mingle,)  with  the 
muddy  waters  of  the  Amazon.  The  entrance  is  broad  and  superb.  It 
is  far  the  largest  tributary  of  the  Amazon  I  have  yet  seen;  and  I  esti- 
mate its  widtli  at  tlie  m<juth  at  two  miles.  There  Ijas  been  no  exag- 
geration in  the  description  of  travellers  regarding  the  blackness  of  ita 
water.  Lieut.  Maw  describes  it  perfectly  when  ho  says  it  looks  like 
black  marble.  It  well  deserves  the  name  of  "Rio  Negro."  When 
taken  up  ill  a  tumbler,  the  water  ijn  light-rod  color,  like  a  pale  junii>or 
water;  and  I  should  think  it  colorCT  by  some  such  bi'rr)'.  A  ^dy  im- 
mersed in  it  has  the  color,  though  wanting  the  brillianry,  of  r<"!  1  !■•'•»- 
minn  glass. 

It  may  have  been  fancy,  but  I  thought  the  light  cumuli  that  hung 
over  the  river  wore  darker  hero  than  elsewhere.  These  dark,  though 
peaceful-looking  clouds,  the  sotting  sun,  the  glitter  of  the  rising  moon 


ARRIVAL   AT   BARRA.  263 

upon  tlie  sparkling  ripples  of  the  black  water,  with  its  noble  expanse, 
gave  us  one  of  the  fairest  scenes  upon  our  entrance  into  this  river  that 
I  ever  recollect  to  have  looked  upon. 

The  mouth  of  the  river  is  about  fifty  miles  below  Pesquera.  I  found 
one  hundred  and  five  feet  of  depth  in  the  middle,  with  a  muddy  bottom, 
and  little  or  no  current.  We  pulled  across  and  camped  at  half-past  six, 
on  a  small  sand-beach  on  the  left  bank. 

January  6. — Started  at  1  a.  m.  Moderate  breeze  from  the  eastward, 
blowing  in  squalls,  with  light  rain.  The  left  bank  of  the  river  is  bold, 
and  occasionally  rocky.  At  5  a.  m.  we  arrived  at  Barra.  My  country- 
man, Mr.  Marcus  Williams,  and  Senhor  Enrique  Antonii,  an  Italian, 
(merchants  of  the  place,)  came  on  board  to  see  me.  Williams  was  fit- 
ting out  for  an  expedition  of  six  months  up  the  river ;  but  Antonii  took 
me  at  once  to  his  house,  and  established  me  there  snugly  and  comfort- 
ably. The  greatest  treat  I  met  here,  however,  was  a  file  of'  New  York 
papers.  They  were  not  very  late,  it  is  true,  but  still  six  months  later 
than  anything  I  had  seen  from  home ;  and  I  conned  them  with  great 
interest  and  no  small  anxiety. 

The  Comarca  of  the  Rio  Negro,  one  of  the  territorial  divisions  of  the 
great  province  of  Pard,  has,  within  the  last  year,  been  erected  into  a 
province,  with  the  title  of  Amazonas.  The  President,  Senhor  /odo 
Baptista  de  Figuierero  Tenreiro  Aranha,  arrived  at  the  capital  (Barra) 
on  the  first  of  the  month,  in  a  government  steamer,  now  lying  abreast 
of  the  town.  He  brought  most  of  the  officers  of  the  new  government, 
and  the  sum  of  two  hundred  coutos  of  reis,  (one  hundred  and  four 
thousand  one  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars,)  drawn  from  the  custom- 
house ^t  Para,  to  pay  the  expenses  of  establishing  the  new  order  of 
things  until  the  collection  of  customs  shall  begin  to  yield. 

This  territory,  whilst  a  Comarca,  was  a  mere  burden  upon  the  public 
treasury,  and  will  probably  continue  to  be  so  for  some  time  to  come. 
I  have  not  seen  yet  any  laws  regulating  its  trade,  but  presume  that  a 
custom-house  will  be  established  at  Barra,  Avhere  the  exportation  duties 
of  seven  per  cent.,  and  the  nieio  dezimo,  a  duty  of  five  per  cent,  for  the 
support  of  the  church,  now  paid  at  Para,  will  be  collected.  Goods  also 
pay  a  provincial  tax  of  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  foreign  articles,  and 
a  half  per  cent,  on  articles  of  domestic  produce.  The  income  of  the 
province  would  be  much  increased  by  making  Barra  a  port  of  entry  for 
the  trade  with  Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  Venezuela,  and  New  Grenada ; 
and  I  have  no  doubt  that  industry  and  enterprise  will,  in  the  course 
of  time,  bring  goods  of  European  manufacture  from  Demarara,  by  the 


264  PROVINCE    OF    AMAZONAS. 

Essequibo  and  Rio  Branco,  to  Barra,  and  foreign  trade  may  likewise 
grow  up  along  the  banks  of  the  Oronoco,  Cassiquiari,  and  Rio  Negro. 

The  province  has  six  hundred  thousand  square  miles  of  territory,  and 
but  thirty  thousand  inhabitants — whites  and  civilized  Indians.  (No 
estimate  can  be  made  of  the  number  of  "  Gentios,"  or  savages,  but  I 
think  this  is  small.)  It  is  nobly  situated.  By  the  Amazon,  Ucayali,  and 
Huallaga,  it  communicates  with  Peru ;  by  the  Yavari,  Jutay,  Jurua, 
Purus,  and  Madeira,  with  Peru  and  Bolivia ;  by  the  Santiago,  Pastaza, 
and  Napo,  with  Ecuador ;  by  the  Iga  and  Japura,  with  New  Grenada ; 
by  the  Negro  and  Branco,  with  Venezuela  and  the  Guayanas ;  !ind  by 
the  Madeira,  Tapajos  Tocantins,  and  Xingu,  with  the  rich  interior  pro- 
vinces of  Brazil.  I  presume  that  the  Brazilian  government  would  im- 
pose no  obstacles  to  the  settlement  of  this  country  by  any  of  the  citizens 
of  the  United  States  who  would  choose  to  go  there  and  carry  their  slaves ; 
and  I  know  that  the  thinking  people  on  the  Amazon  would  be  glad 
to  see  them.  The  President,  who  is  laboring  for  the  good  of  the 
province,  and  sending  for  the  chiefs  of  the  Indian  tribes  for  the  purpose 
of  engaging  them  in  settlement  and  systematic  labor,  said  to  me,  at 
parting,  "How  much  I  wish  you  could  bring  me  a  thousand  of  your 
active,  industrious,  and  intelligent  population,  to  set  an  example  of  labor 
to  these  people ; "  and  others  told  me  that  they  had  no  doubt  that 
Brazil  would  give  titles  to  vacant  lands  to  as'  many  as  came. 

Foreigners  have  some  advantage  over  natives  in  being  exempt  from 
military  and  civil  services,  which  are  badly  paid,  and  a  nuisance. 
There  is  still  some  jealousy  on  the  part  of  the  less  educated  among  the 
natives  against  the  foreigners,  who,  by  superior  knowledge  and  industry, 
monopolize  trade,  and  thus  prosper.  This  produced  the  terrible  revolu- 
tion of  the  Cabanos  (serfs,  people  who  live  in  cabins)  in  the  years  from 
1836  to  1840,  when  many  Portuguese  were  killed  and  expelled.  These 
are  the  most  numerous  and  active  foreigners  in  the  province.  I  have 
been  told  that  property  and  life  in  the  province  are  always  in  danger 
from  this  cause ;  and  it  was  probably  for  this  reason  that  the  President, 
in  his  speech  to  the  provincial  assembly,  before  quoted,  reminded  that 
body,  in  such  grave  terms,  that  laws  must  be  made  for  the  control  and 
government  of  the  sixty  thousand  tapuios,  who  so  far  outnumbered  the 
property -holders,  and  who  are  always  open  to  the  influence  of  the  de- 
signing, the  ambitious,  and  the  wicked. 

The  military  force  of  the  province  of  Amazonas  consists  of  two  battal- 
ions of  a  force  called  Guarda  Policial,  numbering  about  thirteen  hundred, 
and  divided  amongst  the  villages  of  the  province.  They  are  not  paid ; 
they  furnish  their  own  uniform,  (a  white  jacket  and  trousers ;)  and  small 


EXPORTS. 


265 


bodies  of  them  are  compelled  by  turns  to  do  actual  military  service  in 
the  barracks  of  some  of  the  towns,  for  which  time  they  are  paid  at  the 
same  rate  as  the  soldiers  of  the  line.  This  is  a  real  grievance.  I  hate 
heard  individu^s  complain  of  it ;  and  I  doubt  if  the  government  would 
get  very  effective  service  from  this  body  in  the  event  of  civil  war.  This 
organization  took  the  place  of  the  national  guard,  disbanded  in  1836. 
Since  I  left  the  country  the  national  guard  has  been  reorganized,  and 
the  military  force  of  the  jjrovince  placed  upon  a  better  footing. 

I  am  indebted  to  Seuhor  Gabriel  de  Guimaraes,  an  intelligent  citizen 
of  Barra,  for  the  following  table  of  the  annual  exports  of  the  Comarca, 
being  the  mean  of  the  three  years,  frojn  1839  to  1842,  with  the  prices 
of  the  articles  af  Barra : 

-$12,000 

-  4j250 
13 

3 

-    -     90 

-    -    -     42 

160 

600 

-  1,000 
Y20 

-  1,000 
750 

-  6,000 
120 
350 

15 

50 

500 

600 


Sarsaparilla, 

4,000  arrobas,  a 

$3  00  - 

Salt  fish. 

8,500 

u 

50  - 

Brazilian  nutmegs, 

13 

u 

1   00  - 

Tonka  beans, 

3 

u 

1   00  - 

Tow* 

360 

(( 

25  - 

Pitch, 

132 

u 

32.- 

Carajurd, 

320 

pounds. 

50  - 

Cocoa, 

1,200 

arrobas, 

50  - 

Coffee, 

1,000 

(( 

1   00  - 

Tobacco, 

140 

3  00  - 

Copaiba, 

400  canadas. 

2  50  - 

Mixira, 

150 

pots, 

1   00  - 

Oil  of  turtle  eggs. 

6,000 

(( 

1   00  - 

Farinha, 

300 

alquieres, 

40  - 

Brazil  nuts, 

1,400 

(( 

25  - 

Tapioca, 

30 

« 

50  - 

Hides, 

100 

50  - 

Hammocks, 

2,000 

25  - 

Heavy  boards. 

480 

1   25  - 

28,323 


These  are  the  exports  of  the  whole  province,  including  the  town 
of  Egas,  (the  exports  of  which  alone  I  estimate  now  at  thirteen  thousand 
dollars,)  with  the  little  villages  of  Tabatinga,  San  Paulo,  Tunantins,  &c. 
Very  little,  however,  of  the  trade  of  these  last-named  places  passes  Barra, 
and  goes  on  to  Para.  We  will  now  see  how  much  the  trade  has  in- 
creased by  examining  the  following  table  of  the  exports  of  Barra  alone 
for  the  year  1850.  This  was  also  furnished  me  by  the  Senhor  Guima- 
raes. 


266 


EXPORTS. 


Erjmrts  of  the  town  of  Barrafor  1850. 


Hammocks,  ordinary, 

"  superior, 

"  de  travessa,* 

"  feathered, 

"  bags  containing  25, 

"  boxes, 

Bird-?kins,       " 
Tiger-skins, 
Hides, 

Oil  of  turtle-eggs,  pots. 
Copaiba,  " 

Mixira,  " 

Lingaicas,t  " 

Rope  of  ^iasaba,J  incbes, 
Piasaba,  in  bundles,  arrobas. 


Brazil  nuts, 

Salt  fish. 

Coffee, 

Cocoa, 

Tow, 

Tobacco, 

Sarsaparilla, 

Peixe-boi, 

Brazilian  nutmeg, 

Guarana,§ 


alquieres, 
arrobas, 


40  a  %\   50 
15 
100 
2 


pounds. 


9 
1 

2 

*4 

27 

1,212 

27 

66 

2 

1,792 

4,292 

10,406 

14,002 

316 

631 

119 

154 

786 

50 

20 

18 


4  00 

5  00 
30  00 

5  00 
10  00 
10  00 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
50 
42 
50 
50 
50 
00 
42 
00 
00 
42 
00 
31 


$60  00 
60  00 

500  00 
60  00 
45  00 
10  00 

20  00 

2  00 
13  00 

1,818  00 
67  60 
99  00 

3  00 
896  00 

1,802  64 

5,203  00 

7,001  00 

474  00 

631  00 

50  00 

616  00 

3,144  00 

21  00 
100  00 

5  00 


*  Hammocks,  "  de  travessa,"  are  those  that  are  woven  with  close  stripes  across 
them. 

t  Sausages  made  from  the  flesh  of  the  Peixe-boi. 

tPlasuba  is  a  palm,  from  tho  bark  of  which  is  made  nearly  all  the  roj)e  used 
upon  the  Amazon.  The  appearance  of  the  rope  made  from  it  is  exactly  that  of 
the  EnRt  India  coir.  It  is  very  Btronp,  but  liable  to  rot  in  the  heat  and  mois- 
ture of  this  climate.  The  fibres  of  the  bark  are  brought  down  the  rivers  Negro 
and  IJraneo,  put  up  in  large  bundles,  and  are  at  Burra  made  into  cables  and 
running  rigging.  The  coils  are  always  sixty  fathoms  in  length,  and  they  are  sold 
at  BO  much  per  inch  of  circumference. 

$Guaranfi  is  the  fruit  of  a  low  wide-spreading  tree.  It  is  about  the  size  of  a 
common  waltmt,  and  contains,  within,  five  or  six  snudl  seeds.  These  seeds  are 
toasted,  ground,  mixed  with  a  little  water,  presced  into  moulds,  and  dried  in  an 
oven.    Two  spoonfuls,  grated  into  a  tumbler  of  water,  is  thought  to  make  a  very 


Tonka  beans,            arrobas, 
Grude  de  piraiba,*         " 
Plank,                       feet. 

EXPORTS. 

4  a  S5  00 

1  a     3  50 

10,000  a           2|       - 

Sib/ 

-  §20  00 

3  50 

-  250  00 

22,975  00 

In  this  last  list  tbere  appears  to  be  no  carajurii,  pitch,  farinba, 
tapioca,  or  planking  for  vessels.  In  place  of  these  we  find  a  greater 
variety  of  hammocks,  bird  sMns,  tiger-skins,  guarand,  grude  de  paraiba, 
and  boards.  This  last  article,  however,  was  only  furnished  for  one  year ; 
the  saw-mill  was  burned,  and  no  one  seemed  disposed  to  take  the  specu- 
lation up  again!  ^ 

The  Brazilian  nutmeg  (Puxiri)  is  the  fruit  of  a  very  large  tree  that 
grows  in  great  abundance  in  the  low  lands  (frequently  covered  with 
water)  that  lies  between  the  river  Negro  and  Japura,  above  Barcellos, 
a  villasre  situated  on  the  banks  of  the  first  named  river.  Its  value 
seems  to  have  increased  between  the  dates  pf  the  two  tables,  or  between 
the  years  1840  and  1850,  from  one  dollar  the  arroba  to  five.  The 
fruit  is  round,  and  about  the  size  of  our  common  black  walnut.  "Within 
a  hard  outer  shell  are  contained  two  seeds,  shaped  like  the  grains  of 
coffee,  though  much  longer  and  larger,  which  are  ligneous  and  aromatic, 
and  are  grated  for  use  like  the  nutmeg  of  commerce.  It  is  not  equal 
in  flavor  to  the  Ceylon  nutmeg;  but  this  may  be  owing  to  the  want  of 
cultivation. 

Tonka  beans  (Cumaru)  are  found  in  great  abundance  on  the  upper 
waters  of  the  Rio  Negro.  This  is  also  the  nut-like  fruit  of  a  large  tree. 
It  is  the  aromatic  bean  that  is  commonly  used  to  give  flavor  to  snuff". 

I  thought  it  a  curious  fact  that  nearly  all  the  valuable  fruits  of  this 
country  are  enclosed  either  in  hard  ligneous  shells,  or  in  acid  pulps ; 
and  judge  that  it  is  a  provision  of  nature  to  protect  them  from  the  vast 
number  of  insects  with  which  this  region  abounds.  Thus  we  have  the 
coffee  and  the  cocoa  enveloped  in  an  acid,  mucilaginous  pulp,  and  the 
Castanhas  de  Maranham,  or  Brazil  nuts,  the  Sapucaia  nut,  the  Guarana, 
the  Puxiri,  and  the  Cumani,  covered  with  a  hard  outer  shell,  that 
neither  the  insects  nor  the  monkeys  are  able  to  penetrate. 


refreshing  drink.  It  is  said  to  be  a  stimulant  to  the  nerves,  and,  like  strong  tea 
or  coffee,  to  take  away  sleep.  It  grows  principally  on  the  banks  of  the  upper 
Tapajos,  and  is  much  used  by  the  inhabitants  oiMatto  Grosso. 

*  This  is  isinglass,  taken  from  a  fish  called  piruiba.    I  heard  in  Para  of  a  fish 
called  gurijuba,  which  yielded  an  isinglass  worth  sixteen  dollars  the  arroba. 


268  EXPORTS. 

It  appears  from  an  examination  of  the  tables,  that  the  exports  of 
Barra  alone,  in  the  year  1850,  are  not  in  value  far  below  those  of  th« 
whole  Comarca  in  the  year  1840.  I  have  no  doubt,  as  in  the  case  of 
Egas,  that  the  value  of  the  imports  is  very  nearly  double  that  of  the 
exports ;  so  that  the  present  trade  of  Barra  with  Para  may  fairly  be 
estimated  at  sixty  thousand  dollars  per  annum. 


BARRA.  269 


CHAPTER   XIV. 

Town  of  Barra— Foreign  residents— Population — Kio  Negro — Connexion  with 
the  Oronoco— Kiver  Purus — Rio  Branco — ^Vegetable  productions  of  the  Ama- 
zon country. 

The  town  of  Barra,  capital  of  the  province  of  Amazonas,  is  built  on 
elevated  and  broken  ground,  on  the  left  bank  of^the  river,  and  about 
seven  miles  from  its  mouth.  Its  height  above  the  level  of  the  sea  is,  by 
boiling  point,  one  thousand  four  hundred  and  seventy-five  feet.  It  is 
intersected  by  two  or  three  ravines,  containing  more  or  less  water, 
according  to  the  state  of  the  river,  which  are  passed  on  tolerably  con- 
structed wooden  bridges.  The  houses  are  genei^lly  of  one  story,  though 
there  are  three  or  four  of  two,  built  of  wood  and  adobe,  and  roofed 
"with  tiles.  The  floors  are  also  of  tiles,  and  the  walls  are  plastered  with 
the  colored  earth  which  abounds  on  the  banks  of  the  Amazon. 

Every  room  has  several  hooks  driven  into  the  walls,  for  the  purpose 
of  hanging  hammocks.  People  fin*l  it  more  comfortable,  on  account  of 
the  heat,  to  sleep  in  hammocks,  though  I  always  suffered  from  cold,  and 
was  obliged  every  night  to  wrap  myself  in  a  blanket.  There  are  few 
musquitoes,  these  insects  always  avoiding  black  water. 

I  was  surprised  to  find,  before  I  left  Barra,  that  provisions  were  getting 
very  scarce.  The  supply  of  flour  gave  out,  so  that  for  some  time  there 
■was  no  bread  in  the  city ;  and  beef  was  killed  but  once  a  fortnight. 
Even  the  staples  of  the  country  were  diflScult  to  procure ;  and  I  heard 
the  President  say  that  he  was  desirous  of  recruiting  some  fifty  or  sixty 
tapuios  to  work  on  the  new  government  buildings,  but  that  he  really  did 
not  know  where  he  should  get  a  suflScient  quantity  of  salt  fish  and 
farinha  to  feed  them  on.  Just  before  I  sailed,  a  boat-load  of  turtles  came 
up  from  the  Amazon  for  Henrique,  and  his  house  was  besieged  by  the 
poorer  part  of  the  population,  begging  him  to  sell  to  them. 

Soon  after  my  arrival  the  President  did  me  the  honor  to  ask  me  to 
dine  with  him,  to  meet  the  oflBcers  of  the  new  government.  There 
seemed  then  a  great  abui^ance  of  provisions.  We  had  fish,  beef,  mut- 
ton, pig,  turtle,  and  turkey.  There  are  very  fine  fish  taken  about  Barra ; 
they  come,  however,  from  the  Amazon,  and,  unless  cooked  immediately 
on  their  arrival,  invariably  spoil.  The  best  fish  is  called  j^^scado  ;  it  is 
very  delicate,  and  quite  equal,  if  not  superior,  to  our  striped  bass,  or 


270  FOREIGNERS    IN   BARRA. 

rock-fish,  as  it  is  called  in  the  Southern  States.  Cut  into  pieces,  frie^, 
and  potted,  with  vinegar  and  spices,  it  makes  capital  provisions  for  a 
voyage  of  a  week  or  two. 

Williams  is  the  only  American  resident  in  Barra.  He  was  in  partner- 
ship with  an  Irishman  named  Bradley,  who  died  a  few  months  ago  of 
yellow  fever,  in  Para ;  he,  however,  had  been  very  sick,  but  a  short 
time  before,  of  the  tertiana  of  the  Rio  Negro,  and  had  not  fairly  recov- 
ered when  he  went  to  Para.  There  had  been  another  American  in 
Barra  a  year  ago.  This  was  a  deaf  mute  named  Baker,  who  was  trav- 
elling in  this  country  for  his  amusement.  He  carried  with  liim  tablets 
and  a  raised  alphabet,  for  the  purpose  of  educating  the  deaf,  dumb,  and 
blind.  He  died  on  the  20th  of  April,  1850,  at  San  Joachim,  the  fron- 
tier port  of  Brazil,  on  the  l!lio  Branco. 

I  heard  some  muttered  suspicions  that  the  poor  man  had  possibly 
met  with  foul  play,  if  not  in  relation  to  his  death,  at  least  in  relation  to 
his  property ;  and  understanding  that  the  soldier  in  whose  house  he 
died  was  then  in  prison  in  Barra,  I  directed  a  communication  to  the 
President,  requesting  an  interview  with  this  soldier.  His  Excellency 
did  not  think  proper  to  granf  that,  but  sent  for  the  soldier,  and  himself 
examined  him.  He  then  replied  to  my  communication,  that  he  could 
find  nothing  suspicious  in  the' matter  of  Mr,  Baker's  death,  but  enough 
in  regard  to  his  property  to  induce  him  to  send  for  the  commandant  of 
the  port  of  San  Joachim,  and  bring  the  whole  matter  before  a  proper 
tribunal,  which  he  should  do  at  the  earliest  opportunity,  and  communi- 
cate the  result  to  the  American  Minister  at  Rio. 

Eniique  had  told  me  that  he  saw  in  Mr.  Baker's  possession  a  rouleau 
of  doubloons,  which  he  judged  amounted  to  two  thousand  dollars, 
besides  a  large  bag  of  silver.  A  military  gentleman  whom  I  was  in 
the  habit  of  meeting  at  Enrique's  house,  told  me  that  he  himself  had 
heard  the  soldier  say  that  he  should  be  a  rich  man  when  he  got  back 
to  San  Joachim ;  all  of  which  I  communicated  to  the  President.  The 
soldier's  imprisonment  at  Barra  was  on  account  of  some  military  ofl'ence, 
and  had  nothing  to  do  with  this  case. 

The  I'resident  also  sent  me  a  list  of  the  personal  effects  of  Mr.  Baker, 
which  had  been  sent  down  by  the  commandant  of  San  Joachim  to  Col. 
Albino,  the  Commandanle  Geral  oi  iha  Comarca.  Amongst  them  were 
some  things  that  I  thought  might  be  valuabb  to  his  family — such  as 
daguerreotypes,  maps,  and  manuscripts;  and  1  rc'(]uestcd  his  Excellency 
to  place  them  at  my  disposal  for  transportation  to  the  United  States ; 
but  he  replied  that  by  a  law  of  the  empire  the  eftects  of  all  foreigners 
belongyig  to  nations  who  have  no  special  treaty  upon  the  subject,  who 


FOREIGNERS  IN  BARRA.  271 

die  in  Brazil,  are  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Juiz  de  Orfaos  y 
Difuntos  ;  and  that  it  was  therefore  out  of  his  power  to  comply  with 
my  request.  I  am  told  (though  this  may  be  scandal)  that  if  property 
once  gets  into  this  court,  the  heir,  if  he  ever  succeeds  in  getting  a  set- 
tlement, finds  but  a  Flemish  account  of  his  inheritance. 

Our  intelligent  and  efficient  consul  at  Para,  Ilenry  L.  Norris,  has 
represented  this  matter  to  the  government  in  strong  terms,  showing  the 
effect  that  such  a  law  has  upon  the  credit  and  standing  of  large  mer- 
cantile houses  in  Brazil.  I  am  not  aware  of  any  other  nation  than  the 
French. being  exempted  from  its  operation.  It  is  clear  that  the  credit 
of  a  house  whose  property  may  be  seized  by  such  a  court  as  this  on  the 
death  of  its  resident  principal  will  not  be  so  good,  cccteris  paribus,  as 
that  of  a  house  exempted  from  the  operation  of  such  a  law.  The  Bra- 
zilian authorities  are  very  rigid  in  its  execution ;  and  I  was  told  that  a 
file  of  soldiers  was  sent  (I  think  in  Maranham)*  to  surround  the  house 
of  a  dying  foreigner,  to  see  that  no  abstraction  of  property  was  made, 
and  that  the  whole  might  be  taken  possession  of,  according  to  law,  on 
the  decease  of  the  moribund. 

There  were  two  English  residents  at  Barra— Yates,  a  collector  of  shells 
and  plants  ;  and  Hauxwell,  a  collector  of  bird-skins,  which  he  prepares 
most  beautifully.  He  used  the  finest  kind  of  shot,  and  always  carried 
in  his  pocket  a  white  powder,  to  stop  the  bleeding  of  the  birds  when 
shot.  In  the -preparation  of  the  skins  he  employed  dry  arsenic  in 
powder,  which  is  much  superior,  in  this  humid  climate,  to  arsenical  soap. 
He  admired  some  of  my  birds  very  much,  and  went  with  Williams  up 
to  Pebas,  in  Peru,  where  I  procured  most  of  them. 

There  were  also  two  English  botanists,  whose  names  I  have  forgotten, 
then  up  the  Rio  Negro.  One  had  been  very  sick  with  tertiana,  but  was 
recovei-ing  at  latest  accounts. 

The  chief  engineer  of  the  steamer  was  a  hard-headed,  hot-tempered 
old  Scotchman,  who  abused  the  steamer  in  particular,  and  the  service 
generally,  in  no  measured  terms.  He  desired  to  know  if  ever  I  saw 
such  beef  as  was  furnished  to  them ;  and  if  we  would  give  such  beef  to 
the  dogs  in  my  country.  I  told  him  that  I  thought  he  was  fortunate 
to  get  beef  at  all,  for  that  I  had  not  seen  any  for  a  fortnight,  and  that 
if  he  had  made  such  a  voyage  as  I  had  recently,  he  would  find  turtle 
and  salt  fish  no  such  bad  things.  The  steamer,  though  preserving  a  fair 
outside,  is,  I  believe,  very  ifaefficient— the  machinery  wanting  in  power, 
and  being  much  out  of  order;  indeed,  so  much  so  that  on  her  down- 
ward passage  she  fairly  broke  down,  and  had  to  be  towed  into  Para. 
She,  however,  made  the  trip  up  in  eighteen  days,  which,  considering  that 


272  FOREIGNERS   IN   BARRA. 

the  distance  is  full  a  thousand  miles ;  that  this  was  the  first  trip  etiir 
made  up  by  steam  ;  that  the  wood  prepared  for  her  had  not  had  time 
to  dry;  and  that  there  is  nearly  three-miles-an-hour  current  against 
her  for  about  one-third  of  the  distance,  I  do  not  consider  a  very  bad  run. 
The  officers  did  not  call  to  see  rae  or  invite  me  on  board  their  vessel, 
though  I  met  some  of  them  at  the  dinner  and  evening  parties  of  the 
President. 

Mr.  Potter,  a  daguerreotypist,  and  watchmaker,  who  came  up  in  the 
steamer,  and  my  good  friend  Enrique  Antonu,  the  Italian,  with  his 
fathev-in-law,  Senhor  Brandao,  a  Portugese,  make  up  the  list  of  the 
foreigners  of  Barra,  as  far  as  I  know  them.  Senhor  Brandao,  however, 
has  lived  many  years  in  the  country;  has  identified  himself  with  it;  and 
all  his  interests  are  Brazilian.  He  is  a  very  intelligent  man ;  and  I 
observe  that  he  is  consulted  by  the  President  and  other  officials  in  rela- 
tion to  the  affairs  of  the  new  government. 

"Whilst  speaking  of  persons,  I  should  be  derelict  in  the  matter  of 
gratitude  if  I  failed  to  mention  Donna  Leocadia,  the  pretty,  clever,  and 
amiable  wife  of  Enrique.  She  exhibited  great  interest  in  my  mission, 
and  was  always  personally  kind  to  myself.  When  our  sunrise  meal  of 
coftee  and  buttered  toast  gave  out,  she  would  always  manage  to  send 
me  a  tapioca  custard,  a  bowl  of  caldo,  or  something  nice  and  comforta- 
ble for  a  tired  invalid.  Unlike  most  Brazilian  ladies,  whenever  her  house- 
hold duties  would  permit,  she  always  sat  with  the  gentlemen,  and  bore 
an  intelligent  part  in  the  conversation,  expressing  her  desire  to  speak 
foreio^n  languages,  and  to  visit  foreign  countries,  that  she  might  see  and 
know  what  was  in  the  world.  A  son  was  born  to  her  whilst  I  was  in 
the  house,  and  we  had  become  such  friends  that  the  young  stranger 
was  to  be  called  Luis,  and  I  was  to  be  conipadre,  (godfather.)  But 
the  church,  very  properly,  would  not  give  its  sanction  to  the  assumption 
of  the  duties  belonging  to  such  a  position  by  a  heretic. 
-  Ijurra  left  me  here,  and  returned  up  stream  with  Williams.  He  laid 
out  nearly  all  the  money  received  for  his  services  in  such  things  as 
would  best  enable  him  to  employ  the  Indians  in  the  clearance  of  the 
forest,  and  the  establishment  of  a  plantation,  which  he  proposed  to 
^Hocate^''  at  Caballo-cocha,  saying  to  me  that  he  would  have  a  grand 
crop  of  cotton  and  coffee  ready  against  the  arrival  of  my  steamer. 

Ijurra  has  all  the  qualities  necessary  for  a  successful  struggle  with 
the  world,  save  two — patience  and  judgment  He  is  brave,  hardy,  in- 
telli<yent,  and  indefatigable.  The  river  beach  and  a  blanket  are  all  that 
are  necessary  to  him  for  a  bed ;  and  I  believe  that  he  could  live  on  coffee 
and  ci"'ars.    But  liis  want  of  temper  and  discretion  mars  every  scheme 


POPULATIOX.  273 

for  prosperity.  He  spent  a  noble  fortune,  dug  by  his  father  from  the 
Mina  del  rey,  at  Cerro  Pasco,  in  the  political  troubles  of  his  country. 
He^  was  appointed  governor  of  the  large  and  important  province  of 
Maiuas,  but,  interfering  with  the  elections,  he  was  driven  out.  He  then 
joined  a  party  for  the  purpose  of  washing  the  sands  of  the  Santiago  for 
gold,  but  quarrels  with  his  companions  broke  that  up.  With  infinite 
labor  he  then  collected  an  immense  cargo  of  Peruvian  bark ;  but, 
refusing  eighty  thousand  dollars  for  it  in  Par&,  he  carried  it  to  England', 
where  it  was  pronounced  worthless;  and  he  lost  the  fruits  of  his  enter- 
prise and  industry. 

He  gave  me  infinite  concern  and  some  apprehension  in  the  manage- 
ment of  the  Indians ;  but  I  shall  never  forget  the  untiring  energy,  tlie 
buoyancy  of  spirits,  and  the  faithful  loyalty,  that  cheered  my'"  lonely 
journey,  and  made  the  little  Peruvian  as  dear  to  me  as  a  brother. 

The  official  returns  for  the  year  1848  gave  the  population  of  the 
town  of  Baira  at  three  thousand  six  hundred  and  fourteen  free  persons, 
and  two  hundred  and  thirty-fuur  slaves ;  the  number  of  marriages,  one 
hundred  and  fifteen;  births,  two  hundred  and  fifty;  and  deaths 'twenty- 
five;  the  number  of  inhabited  houses,  four  hundred  and  seventy;  and 
the  number  of  foreigners,  twenty-four.  There  are  three  or  four  large  and 
coramodiofi  two-story  houses  that  rent  for  two  hundred  and  fifty  dollars 
a  year.  The  ordinary  house  of  one  story  rents  for  fifty  dollars.  The 
town  taxes  are  ten  per  cent,  on  the  rent  of  houses,  a  dollar  a  year  for  a 
slave,  and  three  dollars  a  year  for  a  horse.  There  are  no  other  taxes 
except  the  c^tom-house  dues.  The  soil  in  the  immediate  neighbor- 
hood of  Barra  is  poor,  and  I  saw  no  cultivation  except  in  the  gardens 
of  the  town. 

The  rock  in  the  neighborhood  of  Barra  is  peculiar;  it  is  ared  sand- 
stone, covered  with  a  thin  layer  of  white  clay.  At  a  mill-seat  about 
three  miles  from  the  town,  a  shallow  stream,  twenty  yards  broad,  rushes 
over  an  inclined  plane  of  this  rock,  and  falls  over  the  ledge  of  it  in  a 
pj-etty  little  cataract  of  about  nine  feet  in  height.  The  water  is  the 
same  in  color  with  that  of  the  Rio  Negro,  when  taken  up  in  a  tumbler— 
that  is,  a  faint  pink.  It  is  impossible  to  resist  the  impression  that  there 
is  a  connexion  between  the  color  of  the  rock  and  the  color  of  the  water. 
Whether  the  water,  tinged  with  vegetable  matter,  gives  its  color  to  the 
rock,  or  the  rock,  cemented  with  mineral  matter,  has  its  efiect  upon  the 
water,  I  am  unable  to  say.  The  rock  on  which  the  mill  stands,  which 
is  at  the  edge  of  the  fall,  is  covered  with  very  hard  white  clay,  about 
the  eighth  of  an  inch  in  thickness. 

The  mUl  was  buUt  upon  a  platform  of  rock  at  the  edge  pf  the  fall, 
18 


274  THE    INDIANS    OF    BARRA. 

and  tlie  wheel  placed  below.  There  was  no  necessity  for  dam  or  race, 
or,  at  least,  a  log,  placed  diagonally  across  the  stnani,  served  for  a  dam. 
It  was  built  by  a  Scotchman,  in  partnership  with  a  Brazilian.  The 
Brazilian  dying,  his  widow  would  neithor  buy  nor  sell,  and  the  mill  was 
finally  burned  down.  I  judge  that  it  was  not  a  good  speculation  ;  there 
is  no  fine  timber  in  the  immediate  neigh borho<  k1  of  Barra,  and  no  roads 
in  the  country  by  which  it  may  be  brought  to  the  mill. 

The  Indians  of  the  neighborhood  are  wdled  Muras ;  they  lead  an  idle, 
vagabond  life,  and  live  by  hunting  and  fishing.  A  few  of  them  come 
in  and  take  service  with  the  whites;  and  nearly  all  bring  their  children 
in  to  be  baptized.  Their  re.nson  for  this  is,  not  that  they  care  about  the 
cert-mony,  but  they  can  generally  persuade  some  good-natured  white 
man  to  stand  as  godfather,  which  secures  the  payment  of  the  church 
fee,  (a  cruzado)  a  bottle  of  spirits  to  the  father,  and  a  yard  or  two  of 
cotton  cloth  to  the  mother.  Antonii  tells  me  ho  is  comjxidre  with  half 
the  tribe. 

They  are  thorough  Favages,  and  kill  a  number  of  their  children  from 
indisposition  to  fake  care  of  them.  My  good  hostess  told  me  that  her 
father,  returning  from  a  walk  to  his  house  in  the  country,  heard  a  noise 
m  the  woods ;  and,  going  towards  the  spot,  found  a  young  Indian  woman, 
a  tapuia  of  his,  digging  a  hole  in  the  ground  for  the  purposj^f  burying 
her  infant  just  born,  lie  interfered  to  prevent  it,  when  she  flew  at  him 
like  a  tiger.  The  old  gentleman,  however,  cudgelled  her  into  submission 
and  obedience,  and  compelled  her  to  take  the  child  home,  where  he  put 
it  under  the  care  of  another  woman.  ^ 

The  women  suffer  very  little  in  parturition,  and  are  able  to  perform 
all  the  offices  of  a  midwife  for  themselves.  I  am  told  that  sometimes, 
when  a  man  and  his  wife  are  travelling  together  in  a  canoe,  the  woman 
will  signify  to  her  husband  her  desire  to  land;  will  retreat  into  the 
woods,  and  in  a  ver)-  short  time  return  with  a  newly-born  infant,  which 
she  will  wash  ia  the  river,  sling  to  her  back,  and  resume  her  paddle 
again.  Even  tlie  ladies  of  this  country  are  confined  a  very  short  time. 
The  mother  of  my  little  namesake  wa.s  alniut  her  household  avocationl 
in  seven  days  after  his  birth.  This  probably  arises  from  three  causes: 
tlie  climate,  the  habit  of  wearing  kK>»e  dresses,  and  the  absence  of 
dissipation. 

Tlie  liio  Negro,  opposite  the  town,  is  about  a  mile  and  a  half  wide, 
and  very  In-autiful.  Th<i  opjxwite  shore  is  masked  by  low  islands;  and, 
where  glimpses  of  it  can  be  had,  it  app«  ars  to  W  five  or  six  mikw  distant. 
The  river  is  navigable  for  almost  any  draught  to  the  lljo  M.iraya,  a  dis- 
tance of  tv\cnty-five  days,  or,  according  to  the  mU-  of  iravdlinir  on  those 


THE    RIVER    NEGRO.  275 

streams,  about  four  hundred  miles;  there  the  rapids  commence,  and 
the  further  ascent  must  be  made  in  boats.  Though  large  vessels  may 
not  ascend  these  rapids,  they  descend  without  difficulty.  Most  of  the 
vessels  that  ply  both  on  the  Rio  Negro  and  Oronoco  are  built  at  or 
near  San  Carlos,  the  frontier  port  of  Venezuela,  situated  above  the 
rapids  of  the  Negro,  and  are  sent  down  those  rapids,  and  also  up  the 
Cassiquiari  and  down  the  Oronoco  to  Angostura,  passing  the  two  great 
rapids  of  Atures  and  Maypures,  where  that  river  turns  from  its  westerly 
course  toward  the  north.  They  cannot  again  ascend  these  rapids. 
Antonii  has  a  new  vessel  lying  at  Barra,  built  at  San  Carlos ;  it  is  one 
hundred  tons  burden,  and  is  well  constructed,  except  that  the  decks, 
being  laid  of  green  wood,  have  warped,  and  require  to  be  renewed.  It 
cost  him  one  thousand  dollars.  Brazilians  pay  a  tax  of  fifteen  per  cent, 
on  prime  cost  on  foreign-built  vessels.  Foreigners  not  naturalized  cannot 
sail  vessels  in  their  own  name  upon  the  interior  waters  of  the  empire. 

It  takes  fifty- one  days  to  go  from  Barra,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Negro, 
to  San  Fernando,  on  the  Oronoco.  This  is  by  ascending  the  Negro 
above  the  mouth  of  the  Cassiquiari,  taking  the  cano  of  Pimichini  and 
a  portage  of  six  hours  to  the  headwaters  of  a  small  stream  called 
Atabapo,  which  empties  into  the  Oronoco.  A  small  boat  may  be 
dragged  over  this  portage  in  a  day  ;  to  go  between  the  same  places  by 
the  Cassiquiari  requires  ten  days  more  at  the  most  favorable  season,  and 
twenty  when  the  Oronoco  is  full. 

From  the  journal  of  a  voyage  made  by  Antonii  in  the  months  of 
April,  May,  and  June,  1844,  it  appears  that  from  Barra  to  Airao  is  five 
days ;  thence  to  the  mouth  of  Rio  Branco,  four ;  to  Barcellos,  three ; 
to  Moreira,  three ;  to  Thomar,  two ;  to  San  Isabel,  five ;  to  Rio  Maraia, 
three ;  to  Castanheiro,  two ;  to  Masarabi,  one ;  to  San  Gabriel,  six ;  to 
Santa  Barbara,  one ;  to  Sta.  Ana,  one ;  to  N.  S.  de  Guia,  one ;  to  Mabe, 
one ;  to  Sta.  Marcellina,  one ;  to  Maribitano,  one ;  to  Marcellera,  one ; 
to  San  Carlos,  two ;  to  Tiriquim,  one ;  to  Tomo,  two ;  to  Marao,  one ; 
to  Pimichim,  one ;  to  Javita,  one ;  to  Baltazar,  one ;  to  San  Fernando, 
one. 

A  few  hours  above  Barcellos  is  the  mouth  of  the  river  Quiuni,  -v^hich 
is  known  to  run  up  to  within  a  very  short  distance  of  the  Japma ; 
nearly  opposite  to  San  Isabel  is  the  mouth  of  a  river  called  Jurubashea, 
which  also  runs  up  nearly  to  the  Japura.  Between  these  rivers  is  the 
great  Puxiri  country ;  it  is  covered  with  water  when  the  rivers  are  full. 
There  is  a  vagabond  tribe  of  Indians  linng  in  this  country  called  Magu. 
They  use  no  canoes,  and  when  they  cannot  travel  on  the  land,  for  the 
depth  of  water,  they  are  said  to  make  astonishing  progress  from  tree  to 


276  COMMUNICATION    WITH    THE    ORONOCO. 

tree,  like  monkeys ;  the  men  laden  with  their  arms  and  the  women  with 
their  children. 

Just  above  San  Isabel  are  found  great  quantities  of  the  Brazil  nut ; 
and  a  little  further  up  is  the  mouth  of  the  river  Cababun,  where  sarsapa- 
rilla,  estimated  at  Pard  as  being  batter  in  quality  than  that  of  any  other 
in  the  valley  of  the  Amazon,  is  gathered ;  still  higher  up,  above  San 
Carlos,  is  cocoa  of  very  superior  quality,  and  in  great  abundance. 

I  have  estimated  that  the  distance  between  Barra  and  San  Carlos  at 
the  mouth  of  the  Cassiquiari  is  about  six  hundred  and  sixty  miles.  A 
llat-bottomed  iron  steamer  calculated  to  pass  the  rapids  of  the  Rio 
Negro  will  make  seventy-five  miles  a  day  against  the  current.  This 
will  take  her  to  San  Carlos  in  nine  days.  She  will  ascend  the  Cassi- 
quiari one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in  two  and  a  half  days.  From  the 
junction  of  the  Cassiquiari  and  the  Oronoco  to  Angostura  is  seven  hun- 
dred and  eighty  miles.  The  steamer  has  the  current  with  her,  and, 
instead  of  seventy-five,  will  run  one  hundred  and  twenty-five  miles  a 
day.  This  will  bring  her  to  Angostura  in  six  days ;  thence  to  the  ocean, 
two  hundred  and  fifty  miles,  in  two  days.  This  allows  the  steamer 
abundance  of  time  to  take  in  fuel,  and  to  discharge  and  take  in  cargo, 
at  the  many  villages  she  finds  on  her  route ;  with  a  canal  cut  over  the 
portage  of  six  hours  at  Piinicliim,  she  will  make  the  voyage  in  five  days 
less.  Thus  by  the  natural  canal  of  the  Cassiquiari  the  voyage  between 
Barra,  at  the  mouth  of  the  Negro,  and  the  mouth  of  the  Oronoco,  may 
be  made  by  steam  in  nineteen  and  a  half  days ;  by  the  canal  at  Pimi- 
chim  in  fourteen  and  a  half  days. 

I  shall  have  occasion  hereafter  to  speak  of  the  portage  between  the 
river  Tapajos  (one  of  the  southern  confluents  of  the  Amazon)  and  the 
headwaters  of  the  Rio  de  la  Plata.  This  gives  another  immense  inland 
navigation. 

The  mind  is  confused  with  the  great  images  presented  to  it  by  the 
contemplation  of  these  things.  \Ve  have  here  a  continent  divided 
into  many  islands,  (for  most  of  its  great  streams  inosculate,)  whosfl 
shores  produce,  or  may  be  made  to  produce,  all  that  the  earth  gives  for 
the  maintenance  of  more  people  than  the  earth  now  holds.  We  have 
also  here  a  lltivial  navigation  for  large  vessels,  by  the  Amazon  and  it.s 
great  tribularics,  of  (in  round  numbers)  about  six  thousand  miles,  which 
does  not  include  the  innumerable  small  streams  that  empty  into  the 
Amazon,  and  which  would  probably  swell  the  amount  to  ten  thousand  ; 
neither  does  it  include  the  Oronoco,  with  it.s  tributaries,  on  the  one 
hand,  nor  the  La  Plata,  with  ita  tributaries,  upon  the  other ;  the  former 
of  which  communicates  with  the  valley  of  the  Amazon  by  the  Cassi- 


COMMUNICATION    WITH    THE    ORONOCO.  277 

qiiiari,  and  the  latter  merely  requires  a  canal  of  six  leagues  in  length, 
over  very  practicable  ground,  to  do  the  same. 

Let  us  now  suppose  the  banks  of  these  streams  settled  by  an  active 
and  industrious  population,  desirous  to  exchange  thfl  rich  products  of 
their  lands  for  the  commodities  and  luxuries  of  foreign  countries  ;  let 
us  suppose  introduced  into  such  a  country  the  railroad  and  the  steam- 
boat, the  plough,  the  axe,  and  the  hoe ;  let  us  suppose  the  land  divided 
into  large  estates,  and  cultivated  by  slave  labor,  so  as  to  produce  all 
that  they  are  capable  of  producing :  and  with  these  considerations,  we 
shall  have  no  difficulty  in  coming  to  the  conclusion  that  no  territory  on 
the  face  of  the  globe  is  so  favorably  situated,  and  that,  if  trade  there 
is  once  awatened,  the  power,  the  wealth,  and  grandeur  of  ancient 
Babylon  and  modern  London  must  yield  to  that  of  the  depots  of  this 
trade,  that  shall  be  established  at  the  mouths  of  the  Oronoco,  the  Ama- 
zon, and  the  La  Plata. 

Humboldt,  by  far  the  greatest  cosmographer  that  the  world  has  yet 
known,  and  one  of  the  most  learned  men  and  profoundest  thinkers  of 
any  time,  in  contemplating  the  connexion  between  the  valleys  of  the 
Oronoco  and  the  Amazon  by  the  Cassiquiari,  speaks  thus  of  its  future 
importance : 

"  Since  my  departure  from  the  banks  of  the  Oronoco  and  the  Ama- 
zon, a  new  era  unfolds  itself  in  the  social  state  of  the  nations  of  the 
West.  The  fury  of  civil  discussions  will  be  succeeded  by  the  blessings 
of  peace  and  a  freer  development  of  the  arts  of  industry.  The  bifurca- 
tion of  the  Oronoco,"  (the  Cassiquiari,)  "the  isthmus  of  Tuamini,"  (my 
portage  of  Pimichim,)  "so  easy  to  pass  over  by  an  artificial  canal,  will 
fix  the  attention  of  commercial  Europe.  The  Cassiquiari — as  broad  as 
the  Rhine,  and  the  course  of  which  is  one  hundred  and  eighty  miles  in 
length — will  no  longer  form  in  vain  a  navigable  canal  between  two 
basins  of  rivers,  which  have  a  surface  of  one  hundred  and  ninety  thou- 
sand square  leagues.  The  grain  of  New  Grenada  will  be  carried  to  the 
banks  of  the  Rio  Negro ;  boats  will  descend  from  the  sources  of  the 
Napo  and  the  Ucayali,  from  the  Andes  of  Quito  and  upper  Peru,  to 
the  mouths  of  the  Oronoco — a  distance  which  equals  that  from  Timbuc- 
too  to  Marseilles.  A  country  nine  or  ten  times  larger  than  Spain,  and 
enriched  with  the  most  varied  prodactions,  is  navigable  in  every  direc- 
tion by  the  medium  of  the  natural  canal  of  the  Cassiquiari  and  the  bi- 
furcation of  the  rivers.  This  phenomenon,  which  one  day  will  be  so 
important  for  the  political  connexions  of  nations,  unquestionably  deserves 
to  be  carefully  examined." 

If  these  things  should,  in  the  estimation  of  Humboldt,  "  fix  the  atten- 


278  THE    PURUS. 

tion  of  commercial  Europe,"  much  more  bIiouU  they  occupy  ours.  A 
glance  at  the  map,  and  a  reflection  upon  the  course  of  the  trade-winds, 
will  show  conclusively  that  no  ships  can  sail  from  the  mouths  of  the 
Amazon  and  Oronoco  without  passing  close  by  our  southern  ports. 
Here,  then,  is  the  natural  depot  for  the  rich  and  varied  productions  of 
that  vast  region.  Here,  too,  can  be  found  all  that  the  inhabitants  of 
that  region  require  for  their  support  and  comfort ;  and  I  have  not  the 
slightest  doubt,  if  Brazil  should  pursue  a  manly  policy,  and  throw  open 
her  great  river  to  the  trade  of  the  world,  that  the  United  States  would 
reap  far  the  largest  share  of  the  benefits  to  be  derived  from  it. 

Whilst  at  Barra,  I  had  conversations  with  a  man  who  had  made 
several  trading  voyages  up  the  "Purus."  Ever  since  I  had  read  the 
pamphlet  of  Father  Bobo  de  Revello,  in  which  he  attempts  to  show 
that  a  navigable  river,  which  he  saw  to  the  eastward  of  Cuzco,  and 
which  he  calls  Madre  de  Bios,  is  identical  with  the  Purus,  this  river 
has  had  for  me  a  great  interest.  I  sent  Mr.  Gibbon  to  look  for  its 
head-watei"s,  and  I  determined,  if  possible,  to  ascend  it  from  its  mouth. 
I  am  not  aware  of  the  reasons  which  induced  Gibbon  to  abandon  the 
search  for  its  sources,  though  I  suspect  they  arose  from  the  well-known 
fierce  and  hostile  character  of  the  savages  who  dwell  on  its  upper  banks. 
But,  for  myself,  I  am  compelled  to  acknowledge  that  when  I  arrived  at 
Barra,  near  the  mouth  of  the  Purus,  I  was  broken  down,  and  felt  con- 
vinced that  I  could  not  stand  the  hardship  and  exposure  necessary  for  a 
thorough  examination  of  this  river. 

According  to  the  statements  of  my  informant — a  very  dark  Brazilian, 
named  Seraphim — the  Purus  commences  to  rise  in  October,  and  to  fall 
in  May.  The  best  time  to  ascend  it  is  when  the  river  is  quite  full  and 
done  rising — in  May.  The  beaches  are  then  covered,  and  slack  water 
is  found  close  in  to  the  proper  shores  of  the  river. 

Fifteen  days,  or  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  mouth,  is 
the  mouth  of  a  stream  called  Parana-piskurm^  which,  by  a  succession 
of  lakes  and  a  portage  of  a  day,  connects  the  Purus  with  the  Madeira- 
The  connexion  is  only  passable  when  the  river  is  full.  About  the  mouth 
of  this  stream,  the  sezocns,  or  intermittent  fevers,  are  said  to  bo  very 
fatal;  but  a  ft-w  days  of  navigation  takes  the  voyager  above-  their  locality 
and  out  of  their  influence.  There  are  several  large  lakes  between  the 
mouth  of  the  Purus  and  that  of  the  Parana-pishuna. 

Thirty  days  from  the  nmutli  of  the  Purus  is  the  mouth  of  a  river 
called  the  Afuniin,  which  also  communioatcs  with  the  Madeira,  above 
the  rapids  of  that  river.  The  banks  of  the  Mueuin  are  low  and  level; 
the  river  is  shallow,  and  the  rocks  make  the  passage  up  and  down  tedious 


THE    PURUS.  279 

and  laborious  in  the  dry  season,  which  is  from  May  to  October. 
The  ascent  of  the  Mucuin  takes  thirty-five  days  to  arrive  at  the 
"  Furo,"  which  connects  it  with  the  Madeira ;  and  the  navigation  of  the 
Furo  takes  ten  more.  I  did  not  understand  from  Senhor  Seraphim  that 
there  were  any  whites  on  the  banks  of  the  Mucuin ;  but  he  told  me 
there  were  broad-tailed  sheep  there— such  as  are  called  in  Brazil  sheep 
of  five  quarters,  on  account  of  the  weight  and  value  of  the  tail.  If 
this  be  true,  I  suspect  that  the  Mucuin  runs  through  a  portion  of  the 
great  department  of  Beni,  belonging  to  Bolivia ;  that  it  communicates 
with  the  Madeira^y  means  of  the  river  Beni ;  and  that  these  sheep 
have  either  been  stolen  by  the  Indians,  or  have  strayed  from  whites 
who  live  about  the  little  town  of  Cavanas,  situated  on  a  tributary  of 
the  Beni. 

Four  years  ago  Senhor  Seraphim,  in  one  of  his  voyages,  encountered 
the  wreck  of  a  boat  stranded  on  a  beach  of  the  Purus.  He  knew  that 
it  was  not  a  Brazilian  boat,  on  account  of  its  construction,  and  from  the 
fact  that  he  at  that  time  was  the  only  trader  on  the  river.  He  also 
knew  that  it  was  not  an  Indian's  boat,  from  the  iron  ring  in  its  bow ; 
and  the  only  conclusion  that  he  could  come  to  was  that  the  boat  had 
broken  adrift  from  civilized  people  above,  and  been  wrecked  and 
broken  in  passing  the  rapids.  The  Indians  who  were  with  Seraphim 
told  hira  that  ten  days  higher  up  (though  the  river  was  broken  by 
caxoeiras)  would  reach  white  people,  who  rode  on  horseback,  and  had 
flocks  and  herds.  Seraphim  was  then  probably  about  six  hundred  miles 
from  the  mouth  of  the  Purus.  His  last  voyage  occupied  eighteen 
months,  and  he  brought  down  two  hundred  and  twenty-five  pots  of 
copaiba,  and  one  hundred  and  fifty  arrobas  of  sarsaparilla. 

The  catauxis  and  the  Indians  generally  of  the  Purus  build  their 
houses  exactly  as  1  have  described  those  of  the  Yaguas.  There  is  rarely 
ever  more  than  one  house  at  a  settlement ;  it  is  called  a  malocca,  and 
ten  or  fifteen  families  reside  in  it.  Children  are  contracted  in  marriage 
at  birth  and  are  suffered  to  come  together  at  ten  or  twelve  years  of 
age.  The  capacity  of  a  boy  to  endure  pain  is  always  tested  before  he 
is  permitted  to  take  his  place  as  a  man  in  his  tribe.  The  dead  are 
buried  in  the  same  position  as  that  used  by  the  ancient  Peruvians. 
The  knees  and  elbows  are  tied  together,  and  the  body  placed  in  a  sitting 
position  in  a  large  earthern  jar.  This  jar  is  placed  in  a  hole  dug  in 
the  floor  of  the  malocca,  and  is  filled  in  around  the  body  with  earth. 
Two  smaller  jars  are  then  placed,  with  mouth  downwards,  over  the  large 
jar,  and  the  whole  is  covered  up  with  earth. 

The  Indiana  of  the  Purus,  as  elsewhere  in  the  valley  of  the  Amazon, 


2S0  THE  RIVER   BRAXCO. 

are  careless  and  lazy  ;  most  of  them  go  naked.  They  ciiltivatfi  a  little 
maize  and  mandioc  for  sustenance,  and  make  a  little  carajuru  to  paint 
their  bodies  and  weapons  with.  Seraphim,  however,  lud  no  difiiculty 
in  getting  Indians  to  collect  copaiba  and  .«arsaparilla  for  him.  He  was 
not  long  from  the  Purus  when  I  arrived  at  Barra;  poor  fellow  !  he  was 
a  martyr  to  the  rheumatism,  and  his  hands  and  legs  were  positively 
black  from  the  marks  left  by  the  mu?quitoes.  I  sent  him  from  Para 
physic,  which  is  higVly  esteemed  upon  the  Amazon,  called  loduret  jf 
pota?sa,  and  "  Le  Roi,"  in  return  for  his  information,  and  some  presents 
of  arms  ifcc,  from  the  Purus.  ^ 

The  Amazon  at  Barra  ordinarily  commences  to  rise  about  the  fifteenth 
of  November,  and  continues  filling  till  the  end  of  December.  It  falls 
through  the  month  of  January,  when  it  again  rises  till  June,  about  the 
end  of  which  month  it  begins  to  fall. 

I  found  the  Rio  Negro  stationary  during  the  month  of.  January.  It 
commenced  rising  about  the  first  of  February  ;  it  is  full  in  June.  I 
believe  it  follows  the  laws  of  the  Amazon,  and  had  risen  through  the 
month  of  December.  These  laws  are  subject  to  considerable  fluctua- 
tions, depending  upon  the  greater  or  less  quantity  of  rain  at  the  sources 
of  the  rivers. 

The  Rio  Branco,  the  greatest  tributary  of  the  Negro,  is  low  in  Janu- 
ary. This  river  is  navigable  for  large  craft  for  about  three  hundred  miles 
from  its  mouth  ;  thence  it  is  broken  into  rapids,  only  passable  for  large 
flat  bottomed  boats.  It  is  very  thickly  wooded  below  the  first  rapids  ; 
above  these  the  trees  disappear,  and  the  river  is  bordered  by  immense 
plains,  which  would  afford  pasturage  to  large  numbers  of  cattle.  Barra 
is  supplied  with  beef  from  the  Rio  Branco,  where  it  must  cost  very  little, 
as  it  is  sold  in  Barra  at  five  cents  a  pound. 

Strong  northeasterly  winds  make  the  ascent  of  the  river  tedious.  A 
boat  will  come  down  from  San  Joachim,  near  the  sources  of  the  river,  to 
Barra,  a  distance  of  five  hundred  miles,  and  passing  many  rapids,  in 
twelve  days. 

A  portage  of  only  two  hours  divides  the  head-waters  of  the  Branco 
from  those  of  the  E:<sequibo.  I  saw  fowling  pieces,  of  English  manufac- 
ture, in  Barra,  that  had  been  bought  by  the  traders  on  the  Rio  Branco 
from  Indians,  who  had  purchased  them  from  traders  on  the  Essequibo. 
They  were  of  very  good  quality,  but  had  generally  been  damaged,  and 
were  repaired  by  the  blacksmiths  of  Barra.  Beautiful  8j>ecimens  of 
rock  crystal  are  brought  from  the  highlands  that  divid.;  the  Branco 
and  Essequibo.  The  t..rtianjus  are  said  to  be  very  malignant  on  the  Rio 
Branco. 


PRODUCTIONS.  281 

There  is  scarcely  any  attempt  at  the  regular  cultivation  of  the  earth 
in  all  the  province  of  Amazonas ;  but  the  natural  productions  of  its  soil 
are  most  varied  and  valuable.  In  the  forest  are  twenty-three  well- 
known  varieties  of  palm,  all  more  or  less  useful.  From  the  piassaba 
bark  (called  by  Humboldt  the  chiquichiqui  palm)  is  obtained  cordage 
■which  I  think  quite  equal  in  quality  to  the  coir  of  India.  From  the 
leaves  of  the  tucum  are  obtained  the  fibres  of  which  all  the  hammocks 
of  the  country  are  made.  Roofs  of  houses  thatched  with  the  gigantic 
leaves  of  the  hussu  will  last  more  than  ten  years.  The  seed  of  the 
urucuri  and  inaja^vQ  found  to  make  the  best  fires  for  smoking  India- 
rubber;  and  most  of  the  palms  give  fruit,  which  is  edible  in  some  shape 
or  other. 

Of  trees  fitted  for  nautical  constructions,  there  are  twenty  two  kinds ; 
for  the  construction  of  houses  and  boats,  thirty-three ;  for  cabinet-work, 
twelve,  (some  of  which — such  as  the  jacarandd,  the  muiro-jnuima,  or 
tortoise-shell  wood,  and  the  macacauba — are  very  beautiful;)  and  for 
making  charcoal,  seven. 

There  are  twelve  kinds  of  trees  that  exude  milk  from  their  bark ;  the 
milk  of  some  of  these — such  as  the  arvoeiro  and  assacii — is  poisonous. 
One  is  the  seringa,  or  India-rubber  tree ;  and  one  the  murure,  the  milk 
of  which  is  reported  to  possess  extraordinary  virtue  in  the  cure  of  mer- 
curialized patients,  or  those  afflicted  with  syphilitic  sores.  Mr.  Norris 
told  me  that  a  young  American,  dreadfully  afflicted  with  the  effects  of 
mercury,  and  despairing  of  cure,  had  come  to  Pard  to  linger  out  what 
"vs'as  left  of  life  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  tropical  clime.  A  few  doses  of 
the  murure  sent  him  home  a  well  man,  though  it  is  proper  to  say  that 
he  died  suddenly  a  few  years  afterwards.  Captain  Littlefield,  the  master 
of  the  barque  "  Peerless,"  told  me  that  he  had  a  seaman  on  board  his 
vessel  covered  with  sores  fi'om  head  to  foot,  who  was  radically  cured 
with  a  few  teaspoonfuls  of  murure.  Its  operation  is  said  to  be  very 
powerful,  making  the  patient  cold  and  rigid,  and  depriving  him  of  sense 
for  a  short  time.  Mr.  Norris  has  made  several  attempt?  to  get  it  home, 
but  without  success.  A  bottle  which  I  brought  had  generated  so  fetid 
a  gas  that  I  was  glad  to  toss  it  from  my  hand  when  I  opened  it  at  the 
Observatory. 

It  is  idle  to  give  a  list  of  the  medicinal  plants,  for  their  name  is  legion. 
The  Indians  use  nearly  everything  as  a  "  remedio."  One,  however,  is 
peculiar — it  is  called  manacd.  Von  Martins,  a  learned  German,  who 
spent  several  years  in  this  countiy,  thus  describes  it :  "  Omnis  planta 
magna  radix  potissimum,  systema  lyraphaticum  summa  efficacia  excitat, 
particulas  morbificas  liquescit,  sudore  et  m-ina  eliminat.     Magni  usus  in 


2S2  PRODUCTIONS. 

sypliilitide,  ideo  mercurio  vegetal  a  quibusdara  dicitur.  Cortex  interior" 
et  omnes  partes  berbaceaj  amaritudine  nauseosa,  fauces  vellicante,  pol- 
lent.  Dosi  parva  resolvit,  majore  exturbat  alvum  et  urinam  ciet,  abortum 
movet,  venenum  a  morsu  serpentum  excutit ;  nimia  dosi  tamquam  vene- 
rium acre  agit.  De  modo,  quo  bauriri  solet,  coiiferas  Martium,  in  Buch- 
ner  Repertor.  Pbarin.  XXXI,  379.  Apud  nonnullas  Indorum  gentes  in 
regione  Amazonica  babitantes  ejus  extractum  in  venenum  sagittarum 
ingreditur." 

Its  virtue  in  rbeumatic  affections  was  much  extolled ;  and,  as  I  was 
suffering  from  pains  in  the  teeth  and  shoulder,  I  <^ermined  to  try  its 
efficacy ;  but,  understanding  that  its  effects  were  powerful,  and  made  a 
man  feel  as  if  a  bucket  of  cold  water  were  suddenly  }K>ured  down  his 
back,  I  begged  my  kind  hostess.  Donna  Leocadia,  to  make  the  decoction 
weak.  Finding  no  effects  from  the  first  teacupful,  I  took  another;  but 
either  I  was  a  peculiar  patient,  or  we  had  not  got  hold  of  the  proper 
root.  I  felt  nothing  but  a  very  sensible  coldness  of  the  teeth  and  tip  of 
the  tongue.  Next  morning  I  took  a  stronger  decoction,  but  with  no 
other  effect.  I  think  it  operated  upon  the  liver,  causing  an  increased 
secretion  of  bile.     I  brought  home  the  leaves  and  root. 

The  root  of  the  murapuama,  a  bush  destitute  of  leaves,  is  used  as  an 
analeptic  remedy,  giving  force  and  tone  to  the  nerves. 

A  little  plant  called  douradinka,  with  a  yellow  flower,  something  like 
our  dandelion,  that  grows  in  the  streets  at  Barra,  is  a  powerful  emetic. 

A  clear  and  good  burning  oil  is  made  from  the  Brazil  nut ;  also  from 
the  nut  of  the  andiroba,  which  seems  a  sort  of  bastard  Brazil  nut,  bear- 
ing the  same  relation  to  it  that  our  horse-chestnut  does  to  the  edible 
chestnut.  Both  these  oils,  as  also  the  oil  made  from  turtle-eggs,  are 
used  to  adulterate  the  copaiba.  The  trader  has  to  be  on  the  alert  that 
he  is  not  deceived  by  these  adulterations.  Another  very  pretty  oil  or 
resin  is  called  tamacziarc;  its  virtues  are  much  celebrated  for  the  cure 
of  cutaneous  affections. 

The  banks  of  the  rivers  and  inland  lakes  abound  with  wild  rice, 
which  feeds  a  vast  number  of  waterfowl;  it  is  said  to  be  edible. 

The  Iluimba  of  Peru — a  sort  of  wild  cotton,  with  a  delicate  and  glossy 
fibre,  like  silk,  and  called  in  Brazil  sumauma — abounds  in  the  province. 
It  grows  in  balls  on  a  very  large  tree,  which  is  nearly  leafless ;  it  is  so 
light  and  delicate  that  it  would  bo  necessary  to  strip  a  number  of  these 
largo  trees  to  get  an  arroba  of  iL  It  is  used  in  Guayaquil  to  stuff 
mattresses.  I  brought  homo  several  large  baskets  of  it.  Some  silk 
manufacturers  in  France,  to  whom  Mr.  Clay,  our  charge  d'affaires  at 
Lima,  sent  specimens,  thought  that,  mixed  with  aiUc,  it  would  make  a 


PRODUCTIONS.  283 

cheap  and  pretty  fabric ;  but  they  had  not  a  sufficient  quantity  to  test  it. 
Where  cotton  is  cultivated  in  the  province,  it  is  sown  in  August,  and 
commences  to  give  in  May;  the  bulk  and  best  of  the  harvest  is  in  June 
and  July.     The  tree  will  give  good  cotton  for  three  years. 

Tobacco,  of  which  that  cultivated  at  Borba,  on  the  Madeira,  is  the 
best  in  Brazil,  is  planted  in  beds  during  the  month  of  February.  T\Tien 
the  plants  are  about  half  a  foot  high,  which  is  in  all  the  month  of 
April,  they  are  set  out ;  the  force  of  the  crop  is  in  September.  The 
plant  averages  four  feet  in  height.  Good  Borba  tobacco  is  worth  in 
Barra  seven  dollars  the  arroba,  of  thirty  two  pounds;  it  does  not  keep 
well,  and  therefore  the  price  in  Par4  varies  much. 

The  tree  that  gives  the  Brazil  nut  is  not  more  than  two  or  three  feet 
in  diameter,  but  very  tall ;  the  nuts,  in  number  about  twenty,  are  en- 
closed in  a  very  hard,  round  shell,  of  about  six  inches  in  diameter.  The 
crop  is  gathered  in  May  and  June.  It  is  quite  a  dangerous  operation  to 
collect  it ;  the  nut,  fully  as  large  and  nearly  as  heavy  as  a  nine  pounder 
shot,  falls  from  the  top  of  the  tree  without  warning,  and  would  infallibly 
knock  a  man's  brains  out  if  it  struck  him  on  the  head. 

Humboldt  says,  "I  know  nothing  more  fitted  to  seize  the  mind  with 
admiration  of  the  force  of  organic  action  in  the  equinoctial  zone  than 
the  aspect  of  these  great  ligneous  pericarps.  In  our  climates  the 
cucurhitacece  only  produce  in  the  space  of  a  few  months  fruits  of  an 
extraordinary  size;  but  these  fruits  are  pulpy  and  succulent.  Between 
the  tropics  the  hertholletia  forms,  in  less  than  fifty  or  sixty  days,  a  peri- 
carp, the  ligneous  part  of  which  is  half  an  inch  thick,  and  which  it  is 
difiicult  to  saw  with  the  sharpest  instrument."  He  speaks  of  them  as 
being  often  eight  or  ten  inches  in  diameter ;  I  saw  none  so  large. 

There  is  a  variety  of  this  tree,  called  sapucaia,  that  grows  on  low 
lands  subject  to  overflow.  Ten  or  fifteen  of  the  nuts,  which  are  loi^, 
corrugated,  and  very  irregular  in  shape,  are  contained  in  a  large  outer 
shell ;  the  shell,  unlike  that  of  the  castanha,  does  not  fall  entire  from  the 
tree,  but  when  the  nuts  are  ripe  the  bottom  falls  out,  leaving  the  larger 
part  of  the  shell,  like  the  cup  of  an  acorn,  hanging  to  the  tree.  The 
nuts  are  scattered  upon  the  water  that  at  this  season  surrounds  the 
trees,  and  are  picked  up  in  boats  or  by  wading.  The  bark  of  the  nut 
is  fragile  ;  easily  broken  by  the  teeth ;  and  its  substance  is  far  superior 
in  delicacy  of  flavor  to  that  of  the  Brazil  nut.  This  nut  as  yet  must 
be  scarce,  or  it  would  have  been  known  to  commerce.  The  tree  is  a 
very  large  one  ;  the  flowers  yellow  and  pretty,  but  destitute  of  smell. 
The  wood  is  one  of  those  employed  in  nautical  construction. 

Shell  lime,  which  is  made  in  Par4,  sells  in  Barra  for  one  dollar  and 


2S4  RAIN    AT    BARRA. 

twenty-five  cents  the  alquier,  of  sixty-four  pounds;  stone  lime  is  double 
in  price. 

Salt  is  worth  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents  the  panero,  of  one  hun- 
dred and  eight  pounds. 

Rains  at  Barra  commence  in  September ;  the  force  of  the  rain  is  in 
February  and  March,  but  there  is  scarcely  ever  a  continuous  rain  of 
twenty-four  hours — one  day  rainy  and  one  day  clear. 

The  Vigario  Geral,  an  intelligent  priest,  nam(;d  Joaquin  Gonzales  de 
Azevedo,  told  me  that  there  was  a  sharp  shock  of  an  earthquake  in  this 
country  in  the  year  1816.  The  ground  opened  at  "  Serpa,"  a  village 
below  Barra,  to  the  depth  of  a  covado,  (three-fourths  of  a  yard.) 


DEPARTURE  FROM  BARRA.  2S5 


CHAPTER  XV. 

Departure   from    Barra — River    Madeira— Serpa— Villa  Nova— Mau^s — River 
Trombetas — Cocoa  Plantations — Obidos — Santarem. 

Having  had  my  boat  thoroughly  repaired,  calked,  and  well  fitted 
■with  palm  coverings,  called  in  Brazil  toldos,  with  a  sort  of  Wandering- 
Jew  feeling  that  I  was  destined  to  leave  every  body  behind  and  never  to 
stop,  I  sailed  from  Barra  on  the  eighteenth  of  February.  The  President 
had  caused  me  to  be  furnished  with  six  tapuios,  but  unwilling  to  dispos- 
sess himself  at  this  time  of  a  single  working  hand,  he  could  not  let  them 
carry  me  below  Santarem.  The  President  is  laboring  in  earnest  for  the 
good  of  the  province ;  and  if  anything  is  to  be  done  for  its  improvement 
he  will  do  it.  He  paid  me  evefy  attention  andTindness  during  my  stay 
at  Barra. 

But  to  my  host  (Antonii,  the  Italian)  I  am  most  indebted  for  attention 
and  information.  From  his  having  been  mentioned  by  Smyth  as  at 
the  head  of  trade  at  Barra  sixteen  years  ago,  I  had  fancied  that  I  should 
find  him  an  elderly  man ;  but  he  is  a  handsome,  gay,  active  fellow,  in 
the  prime  of  life.  His  black  hair  is  somewhat  sprinkled  with  gray,  but 
he  tells  rae  that  this  arises  not  from  age,  but  from  the  worry  and  vexa- 
tion he  has  had  in  business  on  account  of  the  credit  system.  He  is  as 
agreeable  as  good  sense,  much  information  about  the  country,  and  open- 
hearted  hospitality  can  make  a  man.  I  asked  him  to  look  out  for 
Gibbon  and  make  him  comfortable ;  and  was  charmed  with  the  frank 
and  hearty  manner  in  which  he  bade  me  to  "  have  no  care  of  that." 

I  fear  that  I  behaved  a  little  churlishly  about  the  mails.  There  are 
post  offices  established  in  the  villages  on  the  Amazon,  but  no  public 
conveyances  are  provided  to  carry  the  mails.  The  owner  or  captain  of 
every  vessel  is  required  to  report  to  the  postmaster  before  sailing,  in 
order  to  receive  the  mails ;  and  he  is  required  to  give  a  receipt  for  them. 
I  did  not  like  to  be  treated  as  an  ordinary  voyager  upon  the  river,  and, 
therefore,  objected  to  receipt  for  the  mails,  though  I  oft'ered  to  carry  all 
letters  that  should  be  intrusted  to  my  care.  My  principal  Reason,  how- 
ever, for  declining  was,  that  my  movements  were  uncertain,  and  I  did 
not  wish  to  be  trammelled.  The  postmaster  would  not  give  me  the 
mail  without  a  receipt,  but  I  believe  I  brought  away  all  the  letters. 


286  MR.  m'culloch. 

I  am  now  sorry,  as  I  came  direct,  that  I  did  not  give  the  required  receipt 
in  return  for  the  kindness  that  had  been  shown  me. 

Mr.  Potter,  the  daguerreotypist  and  watchmaker,  sailed  in  company 
•with  me.  We  found  the  current  of  the  "Negro"  so  slight  that,  with 
our  heavy  boat  and  few  men,  we  could  make  no  way  against  a  smart 
breeze  blowing  up  the  river:  we,  therefore,  a  mile  or  two  below  Barra, 
pulled  into  the  shore  and  made  fast  till  the  wind  should  fall,  which  it 
did  about  3  p.  m.,  when  we  got  under  way  and  entered  the  Amazon. 

Entering  this  river  from  the  Negro,  it  appears  but  a  tributary  of  the 
latter,  and  it  is  generally  so  designated  in  Barra.  If  a  fisherman  just  in 
is  asked  where  he  is  from,  he  will  say  "from  the  mouth  of  the  Soli- 
mocns."  It  has  this  appearance  from  the  Negro's  flowing  in  a  straight 
course;  while  the  Solimoens  makes  a  great  bend  at  the  junction  of  the 
two  rivers. 

It  is  very  curious  to  see  the  black  water  of  the  Negro  appearing  in 
large  circular  patches,  amid  the  muddy  waters  of  the  Amazon,  and  en- 
tirely distinct.  I  did  not  observe  that  the  water  of  the  Amazon  was  at 
all  clearer  after  the  junMon  of  the  Negro;  indeed,  I  thought  it  appeared 
more  filthy.  "We  found  one  hundred  and  ninety-eight  feet  of  depth  in 
the  bay  or  large  open  space  formed  by  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers. 

About  sixty  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro  we  stopped  at 
the  establishment  of  a  Scotchman,  named  McCulloch,  situated  on  the 
left  bank  of  the  river.  There  is  a  very  large  island  opposite,  which 
reduces  the  river  in  front  to  about  one  hundred  yards  in  width ;  so  that 
the  establishment  seems  to  be  situated  on  a  creek. 

McCulloch,  in  partnership  with  Antonii,  at  Barra,  is  establishing  here 
a  sugar  plantation,  and  a  mill  to  grind  the  cane.  He  dams,  at  great 
cost  of  time  and  labor,  a  creek  that  connects  a  small  lake  with  the 
river.  He  will  only  be  able  to  grind  about  six  months  in  the  year, 
when  the  river  is  falling  and  the  water  runs  from  the  lake  into  the 
river ;  but  he  proposes  to  grind  with  oxen  when  the  river  is  rising.  The 
dift'erence  between  high  and  low-water  mark  in  the  Amazon  at  this 
point  is,  by  actual  measurement  of  McCulloch,  forty -two  feet.  lie  works 
with  five  or  six  hands,  whom  he  pays  a  cruzado,  or  a  quarter  of  a  dollar 
each,  per  day.  There  is  a  much  greater  scarcity  of  tapuios  now  than 
formerly.  Antonii,  who  used  always  to  have  fifty  in  his  employ,  cannot 
now  get  more  than  ten. 

McCullo(^  has  already  planted  more  than  thirty  acres  of  sugar-cane 
on  a  hill  eighty  or  one  hundred  feet  above  the  present  level  of  the  river. 
It  seems  of  tolerable  quality,  but  much  overrun  with  weeds,  on  account 
of  want  of  hands.     I  gave  him  a  leaf  from  my  experience,  and  advised 


SAW    MILL.  287 

Ilim  to  set  fire  to  his  field  after  every  cutting.  The  soil  is  black  and 
rich-looking,  though  light ;  and  McCulloch  supposes  that  in  such  soil 
his  cane  will  not  require  replanting  for  twenty  years.  The  cane  is 
planted  in  December,  and  is  ready  to  cut  in  ten  months. 

This  is  the  man  who,  in  partnership  with  the  Brazilian,  built  the  saw- 
mill at  Barra,  which  was  afterwards  burned  down.  He  sawed  one  hun- 
dred and  thirty  thousand  feet  the  first  year,  but  not  more  than  half  that 
quantity  the  second ;  in  the  third,  by  making  a  contract  with  An- 
tonii,  who  was  to  furnish  the  wood  and  receive  half  the  profits,  he  sawed 
eighty  thousand.  This  plank  is  sold  in  Para  at  forty  dollars  the  thou- 
sand ;  but  the  expenses  of  getting  it  there,  and  other  charges,  reduce  it 
to  about  twenty-eight  dollars.  The  only  wood  sawed  is  the  cedro;  not 
that  it  is  so  valuable  as  other  kinds,  but  because  it  is  the  only  wood  of 
any  value  that  floats ;  and  thus  can  be  brought  to  the  mills.  There  are 
no  roads  or  means  of  hauling  timber  through  the  forests.  McCulloch  told 
me  that  a  young  American,  in  Para,  offered  to  join  him  in  the  erection 
of  a  saw-mill,  and  to  advance  ten  thousand  dollars  towards  the  enterprise. 
He  said  that  he  now  thought  he  was  unwise  to  refuse  it,  for  with  that 
sum  he  could  have  purchased  a  small  steamer  (besides  building  and 
fitting  the  mill)  with  which  to  cruise  on  the  river,  picking  up  the  cedros 
and  taking  them  to  the  mill. 

These  are  not  our  cedars,  but  a  tall,  branching  tree,  with  leaves  more 
like  our  oak.  There  are  two  kinds — red  and  white ;  the  former  of  which 
is  most  appreciated.  Some  of  them  grow  to  be  of  great  size  ;  between 
Serpa  and  Villa  Nova  we  made  our  boat  fast  to  one  that  was  floatino- 
on  the  river,  which  measured  in  length  from  the  swell  of  the  root  to 
that  of  the  first  branches  (that  is  a  clear,  nearly  cylindrical  trunk)  ninety- 
three  feet,  and  was  nineteen  feet  in  circumference  just  above  the  swell 
of  the  roots,  which  would  probably  have  been  eight  feet  from  the  ground 
when  the  tree  was  standing. 

McCulloch  gave  me  some  castanhas  in  the  shell,  and  some  roots  of  a 
cane  like  plant  that  grows  in  bunches,  with  very  long,  narrow  leaves,  and 
bears  a  delicate  and  fragrant  white  flower,  that  is  called,  from  its  resem- 
blance in  shape  to  a  butterfly,  horholeta. 

The  distance  hence  to  the  mouth  of  the  Madeira  is  about  thirty  miles. 
After  passing  the  end  of  the  long  island,  called  Tamitari,  that  lies  oppo- 
site McCulloch's,  we  had  to  cross  the  river,  which  there  is  about  two 
miles  wide.  The  shores  are  low  on  either  hand,  and  well  wooded  with 
apparently  small  trees.  I  always  felt  some  anxiety  in  crossing  so  large 
an  expanse  of  water  in  such  a  boat  as  ours,  where  violent  storms  of  wind 
are  of  frequent  occurrence.     Our  men,  with  their  light  paddles,  could 


2SS  MOUTH    OF    THE    MADEIRA. 

« 

not  keep  such  a  haystack  as  our  clumsy,  heavy  boat  either  head  to 
wind  or  before  it,  and  she  would,  therefore,  lie  broadside  to  in  tl»e  trouf>-h 
of  the  sea,  rolling  fearfully,  and  threatening  to  swamj).  I  should  have 
had  sails  fitted  to  her  in  Barra. 

After  crossing  the  river,  we  passed  the  mouth  of  two  considerable 
streams.  The  lower  one,  called  Uauta,  is  two  hundred  yards  wide  at 
its  mouth,  and  has  a  considerable  current.  It  is  said  to  have  a  larf^e 
lake  near  its  headwaters,  with  outlets  from  this  lake,  comniunicatino- 
with  the  Amazon  above,  and  also  with  the  Madeira ;  that  is,  it  is  a 
paranamiri  of  the  Amazon,  widening  into  a  lake  at  some  part  of  its 
coui-se.  At  half-pjist  8  p.  m.  we  made  fast  for  the  night  to  some  bushes 
on  the  low,  western  bank  of  the  Madeira. 

A  large  island  occupies 'the  middle  of  the  Amazon,  opposite  the 
mouth  of  the  Madeira.  This  mouth  is  also  divided  by  a  small  island. 
The  western  mouth,  up  which  I  pulled  nearly  to  the  head  of  the  island, 
(a  distance  of  about  a  mile,)  is  three-quarters  of  a  mile  wide,  with  sixty- 
six  feet  of  depth,  and  a  bottom  of  fine  white  and  black  sand.  The 
current  runs  at  the  rate  of  three  and  a  quarter  miles  the  hour.  This 
current,  like  that  of  all  the  rivers,  varies  very  much,  according  to  the 
season.  I  was  told  afterwards,  in  Obidos,  that,  when  the  river  was  low — 
in  the  months  of  August,  September,  and  October — there  was  very 
little  current,  and  that  a  vessel  might  reach  Borba  from  the  mouth  in 
three  days;  but  that,  when  it  is  full  and  falling — in  the  months  of 
March,  April,  and  May — there  is  no  tributary  of  the  Amazon  with  so 
strong  a  current ;  and  then  it  requires  twenty  days  to  reach  Borba. 

The  eastern  mouth  is  a  mile  and  a  quarter  wide.  The  island  which 
divides  the  mouth,  is  low  and  grassy  at  its  outer  extremity,  but  high 
and  wooded  at  its  upper.  1  looked  long  and  earnestly  for  the  broad  L 
that  Gibbon  was  to  cut  on  a  tree  at  the  mouth  of  whatever  tributary 
he  should  come  down,  in  hojies  that  he  had  already  come  down  the 
Madeira,  and,  not  being  able  to  go  up  stream  to  Barra,  had  gone  on 
down ;  but  it  was  nowhere  to  be  seen. 

The  Madeira  is  by  ftir  the  largest  tributary  of  the  Amazon.  Once 
past  its  cascades,  which  are  about  four  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  its 
mouth,  and  occupy  a  space  of  three  hundred  and  fifty  miles  in  length, 
it  is  navigable  for  large  vessels  by  its  great  tributaries — the  lieni  and 
Mamor6 — into  the  heart  of  Bolivia;  and  by  the  Guapore  or  Itenes,  quite 
through  the  rich  Brazilian  province  of  Matto  Grosso.  The  Portuguese 
astronomers,  charged  with  the  investigation  of  the  frontiers,  estimate 
that  it  drains  a  surface  equal  to  forty-four  thousand  square  leagues. 
"We  shall,  however,  know  more  of  this  river  on  the  arrival  of  Mr.  Gib- 


SERPA.  2S9 

bon,  whom  last  accounts  left  at  Trinidad  de  Moxos,  on  the  Mamoro,  one 
of  tlie  tributaries  of  tbis  great  stream. 

The  rapids  of  the  Madeira  are  not  impassable  ;  Palttcios,  the  Brazilian 
officer  before  quoted,  descended  and  ascended  them  in  a  canoe,  though 
he  had  occasionally  to  drag  the  canoe  over  portages.  And  Mr.  Clay, 
our  charge  at  Lima,  was  told  that  a  Brazilian  schooner-of-war '  had 
ascended  the  Madeira  above  the  rapids,  and  fired  a  salute  at  JSxaliacion, 
which  is  in  Bolivia,  above  the  junction  of  the  Beni.  Palacios  probably 
descended  at  low  water,  and  the  schooner  went  up  when  the  river  was 
full. 

The  village  of  Serpa,  where  we  arrived  in  the  afternoon,  is  situated 
on  the  left  bank  of  the  Amazon,  thirty  miles  below  the  mouth  of  the 
Madeira.  It  is  a  collection  of  mud-hovels  of  about  two  hundred  souls, 
built  upon  a  considerable  eminence,  broken  and  green  with  grass,  that 
juts  out  into  the  river.  There  is  a  point  of  land  just  above  Serpa,  on 
the  opposite  side,  which,  throwing  the  current  oflF,  directs  it  upon  the 
Serpa  point,  and  makes  a  strong  e^dy  current  for  half  a  mile  above  the 
town  close  in  shore. 

Serpa  has  a  considerable  lake  back  of  it  called  Saraca,  on  the  lower 
end  of  which  is  the  village  of  Silves,  a  little  larger  than  Serpa.  That 
entrance  to  the  lake  which  communicates  with  the  Amazon  near  Serpa 
is  not  large  enough  for  my  boat  to  enter ;  that  near  Silves  will  admit 
large  schooners.  A  mark  on  a  tree  shows  that  the  river  rises  about 
twelve  feet  above  its  present  level. 

We  left  Serpa  at  6  p.  m.,  and  drifted  all  night.  We  are  compelled 
to  travel  at  night,  for  there  is  so  much  wind  and  sea  during  the  day 
that  we  make  no  headway.  We  are  frequently  compelled  to  lay  by, 
and  are  sometimes  in  danger  of  being  swamped,  even  in  the  little  nooks 
and  bays  where  we  stop.  The  most  comfortable  way  of  travelling  is  to 
make  the  boat  fast  to  a  floating  tree,  for  this  keeps  the  boat  head  on  to 
the  wind  and  sea,  and  drags  her  along  against  these  with  the  velocity 
of  the  current. 

About  fifteen  miles  above  Villa  Nova,  which  is  one  hundred  and  fifty 
miles  below  Serpa,  a  boat  manned  by  soldiers  pulled  out  from  a  hut  on 
the  shore,  and  told  us  we  must  stop  there  until  examined  and  despatched 
by  the  officer  in  charge,  called  inspector.  I  could  not  well  pull  back 
against  the  stream,  for  we  had  already  passed  the  hut ;  so  I  sent  word 
to  the  inspector  that  I  had  letters  from  the  President,  and  pulled  in 
shore  abreast  of  where  I  was.  The  inspector  had  the  civility  to  come 
down  to  me  and  inspect  my  papers.  This  is  a  "resisto,"  or  coast-guard, 
stationed  above  the  port  of  entry  of  Villa  Nova,  to  stop  vessels  from 
19 


290  VILLA    NOVA. 

passing,  and  to  notify  them  that  they  must  go  into  that  port.  There  is 
another  below  Villa  Nova,  to  stop  vessels  coming  up,  and  to  examine 
the  clearances  from  the  custom-house  of  those  coming  down.    - 

Within  a  quarter  of  a  mile  from  the  shore  I  found  one  hundred  and 
twenty  feet  of  depth,  and  three  miles  the  hour  of  current.  The  current 
of  the  Amazon  has  increased  considerably  since  the  juixction  of  the 
Madeira. 

.  The  inspector  told  me  I  was  within  four  hours  of  Villa  Nova ;  but  I 
kept  in  shore,  for  fear  of  squalls ;  and  thus,  in  the  darkness  of  night, 
pulled  around  the  shore  of  a  deep  bay,  where  there  was  little  current, 
and  did  not  arrive  for  eight  hours,  passing  the  mouth  of  the  small  river 
Limao,  about  a  mile  and  a  half  above  Villa  Nova,  where  we  arrived  at 

2  a.  m. 

Villa  Nova  de  Rainha  is  a  long  straggling  village  of  single  story 
mud-huts,  situated  in  a  little  bend  on  the  right  bank  of  the  Amazon. 
The  temperature  of  boiling  water  gives  its  elevation  above  the  level  of 
the  sea  at  nine  hundred  and  fifty-nine  feet.  It  contains  about  two  hun- 
dred inhabitants,  and  the  district  to  which  it  belongs — embracing  several 
small  villages  in  the  interior,  with  cocoa  plantations  on  the  banks  of 
the  river — numbers  four  or  five  thousand.  The  productions  of  the  dis- 
trict are  cocoa,  cofiee,  and  a  few  cattle,  but  principally  salt  fish.  The 
whole  country  back  of  the  village  is  vey  much  cut  up  by  lakes,  (with 
water  communications  between  them,)  where  the  greater  part  of  the  fish 
is  taken.  The  sub-delegado  gave  me  a  sketch  of  it  from  his  own  per- 
sonal knowledge  and  observation. 

This  being  the  frontier  town  of  the  province  of  Amazonas,  there  is  a 
custom-house  established  here.  I  heard  that  it  had  collected  one  thou- 
sand dollars  since  the  steamer  passed  up  in  December.  This  gives  an 
indication  of  the  trade  of  the  country ;  foreign  articles,  which  are  the 
cargoes/)f  vessels  bound  up,  paying  one  and  a  half  per  cent,  on  their 
value ;  and  articles  of  domestic  produce,  which  the  vessels  bound  down 
carry,  paying  a  half  per  cent.  The  collection  of  one  thousand  dollars 
was  made  in  two  months. 

•  The  people  valued  their  fowls  at  fifty  cents  apiece.  "We  thought  them 
extortionate,  and  would  not  buy ;  but  we  happened  to  arrive  on  fresh- 
beef  day,  and  got  a  soup  piece.  These  fresh-meat  days  are  a  week 
apart,  though  this  is  a  cattle  producing  country.  It  is  an  indication  of 
the  listless  indifference  of  the  people. 

Just  before  reaching  Villa  Nova,  my  sounding-lead  had  hung  in  the 
rocks  at  the  bottom,  and  a  new  xm^ssaha  line,  which  I  had  made  in 
Barra,  of  about  the  size  of  a  common  log  or  cod-line,  parted  as  if  it 


MAUES.  291 

had  been  pack-tliread.  I  bought  another  lead  at  the  village  ;  this  also 
hung  at  the  first  cast,  and  the  line  again  parted  close  to  my  hand,  so 
that  I  lost  nearly  all.  My  line  must  have  been  made  of  old  fibres  of 
the  piassaba  which  had  been  in  store  some  time.  The  bottom  of  the 
river  near  Villa  Nova  is  very  uneven  and  rocky. 

About  a  league  below  Villa  Nova  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the  river 
Ramos  on  the  right.  It  is  two  hundred  yards  wide,  and  is  a  paranimiri, 
which  leaves  the  Amazon  nearly  opposite  Silves.  It  has  many  small 
streams  emptying  into  it  in  the  interior,  and  sends  off  canals,  joining  it 
with  other  rivers,  one  of  which  is  the  Madeira.  It  is  the  general  route 
to  Maues — a  considerable  village  in  the  interior,  foiu-  days  from  the 
mouth  of  the  Ramos. 

The  country  about  Maues  is  described  as  a  great  grazing  plain,  inter- 
sected and  cut  yp  with  streams  and  canals,  all  navigable  for  the  largest 
class  of  vessels  that  now  navigate  the  Amazon.  The  soil  is  very  rich, 
and  adapted  to  the  cultivation  of  cotton,  coffee,  and  cocoa.  The  rivecs 
give  abundance  of  fish ;  any  number  of  cattle  may  be  pastured  upon 
the  plains ;  and  the  neighboring  woods  yield  cloves,  cocoa,  castanhas, 
India-rubber,  guarana,  sarsaparilla,  and  copaiba.  If  this  country  be  not 
sickly  (and  the  sub-delegado  at  Villa  Nova,  who  gave  me  a  little  sketch 
of  it,  told  me  that  it  was  not)  it  is  probably  the  most  desirable  place  of 
residence  on  the  Amazon. 

Baena,  in  his  chorographic  essay  on  the  province  of  Para,  says  of 
Maues,  that  it  is  situated  upon  a  slight  eminence  on  a  bay  of  the  river 
Maueuassu,  which  empties  into  the  Furo,  or  canal  of  Ururaia,  by  means 
of  which,  and  the  river  Tupinambaranas,  one  may  enter  the  river  Madeira 
thirteen  leagues  above  its  mouth.  He  gives  the  number  of  inhabitants 
in  1832  at  one  thousand  six  hundred  and  twenty-seven.  The  official 
report  for  1850  states  it  at  three  thousand  seven  hundred  and  nine 
whites,  and  eighty-two  slaves.  This  official  report  makes  an  ugly  state- 
ment as  regards  its  health  ;  it  gives  the  number  of  births  in  a  year  at 
seventy-four,  and  deaths  at  one  hundred  and  thirty-one.  I  have  no 
confidence  in  this  statement,  and  it  looks  like  a  misprint.  This  report 
stated  the  number  of  inhabited  houses  at  Barra  as  one  hundred  and 
seventy.  This  I  knew  was  an  error,  and  I  took  the  liberty  of  making  it 
four  hundred  and  seventy. 

Just  below  the  mouth  of  the  Ramos,  quite  a  neatly  rigged  boat,  carry- 
ing the  Brazilian  flag,  put  off  from  a  house  on  shore,  and  seemed 
desirous  to  communicate  with  us ;  but  she  was  so  badly  managed  that, 
although  there  was  a  fine  breeze,  (directly  ahead,  however,)  she  could  not 
catch  us,  though  we  were  but  drifting  with  the  current.     Had  I  known 


292  RESISTO. 

her  character  I  would  have  paddled  up  as^ainst  the  stream  to  allow  her 
to  join  company ;  but  my  companion,  Mr.  Potter,  said  that  she  was  a 
boat  belonging  to  the  church,  and  begging  for  Jerusalem. 

Finding  that  she  could  not  come  up  with  us,  she  put  back,  and  a 
light  canoe  with  a  soldier  in  it,  soon  overtook  us.  -The  soldier  told  me 
that  this  was  another  custom-house  station,  and  that  I  must  pull  back 
and  show  my  clearance  from  the  collector  at  Villa  Nova.  I  was  a  good 
deal  annoyed  at  this,  for  I  thought  the  said  collector,  to  whom  I  carried 
letters  from  the  President,  might  have  had  the  forethought  to  tell  me 
about  this  station,  so  that  I  might  have  stopped  there  and  saved  the 
time  and  labor  of  pulling  back.  The  soldier,  seeing  my  vexation,  told 
me  that  if  I  would  merely  pull  in  shore  and  wait,  the  inspector,  who 
was  then  a  few  miles  down  the  river,  would  soon  be  by  on  his  way  up, 
and  I  could  communicate  with  him  there. 

To  do  this  even  carried  me  some  distance  out  of  my  way ;  but  I  had 
previously  resolved  to  conform  scrupulously  to  the  laws  and  usages  of 
the  country;  so  I  smothered  my  annoyance,  pulled  in,  and  had  the 
good  luck  to  meet  the  inspector  before  reaching  the  land.  This  was  a 
mere  boy,  who  looked  at  my  papers  coldly,  and  without  comment, 
except  (prompted  by  an  old  fellow  who  was  steering  his  boat)  he  asked 
me  if  I  had  no  paper  from  the  collector  at  Villa  Nova.  I  tflld  him  no, 
that  I  was  no  commerciante,  had  nothing  to  sell,  and  that  he  had  read 
my  passports  from  his  government.  After  a  little  hesitation  he  suffered 
me  to  pass. 

The  pull  into  the  right  bank  had  brought  me  to  the  head  of  an  island. 
The  inspector  told  me  that  the  passage  was  as  short  on  that  side,  but 
that  it  was  narrow,  and  full  of  cara2)ana,  as  musquitoes  are  called  on  the 
Amazon.  Although  I  have  a  musquito  curtain  which  protects  me  com- 
pletely, yet  the  tapuios  had  none,  and,  whenever  I  stopped  at  night, 
they  had  a  wretched  time,  and  could  not  sleep  a  moment.  This  was  one 
of  the  reasons  why  I  travelled  at  night.  All  persons  are  so  accustomed 
to  travel  from  Barra  downwards  at  night,  and  to  keep  out  far  from  the 
shore,  that  they  do  not  carry  musquito  curtains,  which  the  travellers  ou 
the  upper  Amazon  and  its  tributaries  would  perish  without 

We  pulled  back  into  tlie  main  stream  and  drifted  all  night,  parsing 
the  small  village  of  Parentitis,  situated  on  some  high  lands  that  fonn 
the  boundary  between  tJic  provinces  of  Par{i  and  Amazonas. 

"We  now  enter  the  country  where  the  cocoa  is  regularly  cultivated, 
and  the  banks  of  the  river  present  a  much  less  desolate  and  savage 
appearance  than  they  do  above.  Tlie  cocoa-trees  have  a  yellow-colored 
leaf,  and  this,  together  with  their  regularity  of  size,  distinguishes  them 


THE    TROMBETAS.  293 

from  tlie  surrounding  forest.  At  8  p.  m.,  February  25,  we  arrived  at 
Obidos,  one  hundred  and  five  miles  below  Villa  Nova.  Several  gentle- 
men ottered  to  furnisli  me  a  vacant  bouse ;  but  I  was  surly,  and  slept  in 
my  boat 

Whilst  at  Obidos,  I  took  a  canoe  to  visit  the  cacoaes,  or  cocoa  planta- 
tions, in  the  neighborhood  ;  the  fruit  is  called  cacao.  We  started  at  6 . 
a.  m.,  accompanied  by  a  gentleman  named  Miguel  Figuero,  and  stopped 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Tromhetas^  which  empties  into  the  Amazon  four 
or  five  miles  above  Obidos.  It  enters  the  Amazon  by  two  mouths  within 
sight  of  each  other,  (the  island  dividing  the  mouth  being  small ;)  the 
lower  and  smaller  mouth  is  called  Sta.  Teresa,  and  is  about  one  hundred 
and  fifty  yards  wide ;  the  upper  (Boca  de  Trombetas)  is  half  a  mile  wide, 
and  enters  the  Amazon  at  a  very  sharp  angle ;  its  waters  are  clear,  and 
the  dividing-line  between  them,  and  those  of  the  Amazon  is  preserved 
distinct  for  more  than  a  mile. 

The  Trombetas  is  said  to  be  a  very  large  river;  in  some  places  as 
wide  as  the  Amazon  is  here — about  two  miles.  It  is  very  productive  in 
fish,  castanhas,  and  sarsaparilla,  and  runs  through  a  country  well  adapted 
to  raising  cattle. '  I  have  heard  several  people  call  it  a  world ;  they 
may  call  it  so  on  account  of  its  productions,  or  it  may  be  a  "  world  of 
waters,"  for  the  whole  country,  according  to  the  description  of  it,  is 
entirely  cut  up  with  lakes  and  water-communications.  The  river  is  only 
navigable  for  large  vessels  five  or  six  days  up,  and  is  then  obstructed  by 
rocks  and  rapids,  which  make  it  impassable.  Little  is  known  of  the 
river  above  the  falls ;  it  is  very  sickly  below  them  with  tertianas,  whicli 
take  a  malignant  type. 

Near  the  mouth  of  this  river  we  stopped  at  an  establishment  for 
making  pots  and  earthenware  generally,  belonging  to  a  gentleman 
named  Bentez,  who  received  us  with  cordiality.  This  country  house 
was  neat,  clean,  and  comfortable.  I  caught  glimpses  of  some  ladies 
neatly  dressed,  and  with  very  pretty  faces ;  and  was  charmed  with  the 
sight  of  a  handsome  pair  of  polished  French  leather  boots  sitting  against 
the  wall.  This  was  the  strongest  sign  of  civilization  that  I  had  met 
with,  and  showed  me  that  I  was  beginning  to  get  into  communication 
with  the  great  world  without 

Senhor  Bentez  gave  me  some  eggs  of  the  "enambu,"  a  bird  of  the 
pheasant  or  partridge  species,  some  of  which  are  as  large  as  a  turkey. 
There  are  seven  varieties  of  them,  and  an  intelligent  young  gentleman, 
named  D'Andrade,  gave  me  the  names,  which  were  Enambu-assu,  (assu 
is  lingoa  geral,  and  means  large,)  Enambu- toro,  Peira,  Sororiua,  Macu- 
cana,  Uru,  and  Jarsana. 


294  COCOA  PLANTATIONS. 

In  crossing  the  Amazon  we  were  swept  by  the  current  below  the 
plantation  we  intended  to  visit,  and  thus  had  a  walk  of  a  mile  through 
the  cocoa  plantations,  with  which  the  whole  right  bank  of  the  river 
between  Obidos  and  Aleraquer  is  lined.  I  do  not  know  a  prettier  place 
than  one  of  these  plantations.  The  trees  interlock  their  branches,  and, 
with  their  large  leaves,  make  a  shade  impenetrable  to  any  ray  of  the 
sun.  The  earth  is  perfectly  level,  and  covered  with  a  cai-peting  of  dead 
leaves;  and  the  large  golden-colored  fruit,  hanging  from  branch  and 
trunk,  shine  through  the  green  with  a  most  beautiful  effect.  The  only 
drawback  to  the  pleasure  of  a  walk  through  them  arises  from  the 
quantity  of  musquitoes,  which  in  some  places,  and  at  certain  times,  are 
tmendurable  to  one  not  seasoned  to  their  attacks.  I  could  scarcely  keep 
still  long  enough  to  shoot  some  of  the  beautiful  birds  that  were  flitting 
amonff  the  trees. 

o 

This  is  the  time  of  the  harvest,  and  we  found  the  people  of  every 
plantation  engaged,  in  the  open  space  before  the  house,  in  breaking  open 
the  shells  of  the  fruit,  and  spreading  the  seed  to  dry  in  the  sun  on 
boards  placed  for  the  purpose.  They  make  a  pleasant  drink  for  a  hot 
day  by  pressing  out  the  juice  of  the  gelatinous  pulp  that  envelops  the 
seeds ;  it  is  called  cacao  wine ;  is  a  white,  rather  viscid  liquor ;  has  an 
agreeable,  acid  taste,  and  is  very  refreshing ;  fermented  and  distilled,  it 
will  make  a  powerful  spirit. 

The  ashes  of  the  burnt  hull  of  the  cacao  contains  a  strong  alkali,  and 
it  is  used  in  all  the  "cacoaes"  for  making  soap. 

We  were  kindly  received  by  the  gentleman  whom  we  went  to  visit, 
Senhor  Jose  da  Silva,  whom  we  found  busily  engaged  in  gathering  the 
crop.  "When  he  discovered  that  we  had  eaten  nothing  since  daylight, 
lie  called  out  in  true  hospitable  country  fashion,  "Wife,  cook  something 
for  these  men ;  they  are  hungry ;"  and  we  accordingly  got  some  dinner 
of  turtle  and  fowl. 

In  addition  to  the  gathering  of  bis  cocoa,  Senhor  da  Silva  was  en- 
gaged in  expressing  a  clean,  pretty-looking  oil  from  the  castanha.  The 
nut  was  first  toasted  in  the  oven ;  then  pulverized  in  a  wooden  mortar ; 
and  the  oil  was  pressed  out  in  the  same  sort  of  wicker-bag  that  is  used 
for  straining  the  mandioc.  He  said  that  the  oil  bunied  well,  and  was 
soft  and  pleasant  to  put  on  the  skin  or  make  unguents  of,  though  it  had 
not  a  pleasant  smell.  This  oil  has  not  yet  found  its  way  into  foreign 
commerce. 

From  the  statements  of  this  gentleman,  I  gathered  the  following  facts 
regarding  the  cocoa : 

The  seed  is  planted  in  garden  beds  in  August.     When  the  plants 


CULTIVATION    OF    COCOA. 


295 


come  up,  it  is  sometimes  necessary  to  water  them,  also  to  protect  them 
from  the  sun  by  arbors  of  palm,  and  to  watch  carefully  for  their  pro- 
tection from  insects.  In  January,  the  plants  are  removed  to  their  per- 
manent place,  where  they  are  set  out  in  squares  of  twelve  palms. 
Plantains,  Indian  com,  or  anything  of  quick  growth,  are  planted  be- 
tween the  rows,  for  their  further  protection  from  the  sun  whilst  young. 
These  are  to  be  grubbed  up  so  soon  as  they  begin  to  press  upon  the 
cocoa  trees. 

In  good  land  the  trees  will  give  fruit  in  three  years,  and  will  continue 
to  give  for  many  years ;  though  tradition  says  they  begin  to  fail  after 
seventy  Or  eighty. 

The  trees  bud  and  show  fruit  in  October  or  November  for  the  first 
crop,  and  in  February  and  March  for  the  second.  The  summer  harvest 
commences  in  January  and  February ;  and  the  winter  crop,  which  is  the 
largest,  is  gathered  in  June  and  July.  One  crop  is  not  off  the  trees 
before  the  blossoms  of  the  second  appear.  We  saw  no  blossoms ;  and 
I  heard  at  Obidos  that  the  winter  crop  had  probably  failed  entirely. 

Every  two  thousand  fruit-bearing  trees  require,  for  their  care  and 
croppage,  the  labor  of  one  slave. 

When  they  are  young  they  need  more  attention,  and  two  are  neces- 
sary. The  trees  are  kept  clean  about  the  roots,  and  insects  are  care- 
fully destroyed  ;  but  the  ground  is  never  cleared  of  its  thick  covering  of 
dead  leaves,  which  are  suffered  to  rot  and  manure  it. 

The  earth  of  the  cacoaes  that  I  saw  opposite  Obidos  is  a  rich,  thick, 
black  mould,  and  is  the  best  land  I  have  seen.  It  is  low,  particularly 
at  the  back  of  the  plantations ;  and  the  river,  by  means  of  creeks,  finds 
its  way  there,  and  frequently  floods  the  grounds,  destroying  many 
trees.  The  banks  of  the  river  are  five  or  six  feet  high  ;  but  the  river  is 
eonstentiy  encroaching  upon  them.  Senhor  Silva  told  me  that,  when 
he  first  took  possession  of  the  place,  he  had  seven  rows  of  trees  between 
the  house  and  the  river ;  now,  only  three  rows  remain.  The  houses 
have  frequentiy  to  be  moved  further  back,  so  that  these  cocoa  planta- 
tions must,  in  the  course  of  time,  be  destroyed. 

In  good  ground,  and  without  accident,  every  thousand  trees  will 
give  fifty  arrobas  of  the  fruit;  but  the  average  is  probably  not  over 
twenty-five,  A  tree  in  good  condition,  and  bearing  well,  is  worth 
sixteen  cents ;  the  land  in  which  it  grows  is  not  counted  in  the  sale. 
One  slave  will  take  care  of  two  thousand  trees.  The  value  of  the 
arroba  in  Par4  is  one  dollar.  With  these  data,  calculation  will  make 
the  cultivation  of  the  cocoa,  in  the  neighborood  of  Obidos,  but  a  poor 
business ;  and,  indeed,  I  heard  that  most  of  the  cultivators  were  in  debt 


296  OBiDos. 

to  the  merchants  below.  Should  the  thousand  trees  give  fifty*  arrobas, 
and  the  price  of  the  arroba  run  up  to  one  dollar  and  twenty-five  cents, 
and  one  dollar  and  fifty  cents,  as  it  does  sometimes  in  Para,  it  would 
then  be  a  very  profitable  business. 

Obidos  is  situated  upon  a  high,  bold  point,  and  has  all  the  river 
(about  a  mile  and  a  half  in  width)  in  front  of  it.  The  shores  are  bold, 
and  the  current  very  rapid.  I  had  heard  it  stated  that  bottom  could 
riot  be  obtained  in  the  river  off  Obidos,  and  I  bought  six  hundred  feet 
of  line  and  a  seven-pound  lead  to  test  it.  In  what  was  pointed  out  as 
the  deepest  part,  I  sounded  in  one  hVindred  and  fifty,  one  hundred  and 
eighty,  and  two  himdred  and  ten  feet,  with,  generally,  a  pebbly  bottom. 
In  another  place  I  judged  I  had  bottom  in  two  hundred  and  forty  feet ; 
but  the  lead  came  up  clean.  I  may  not  have  had  bottom,  or  this  may 
have  been  of  soft  mud,  and  washed  off  from  the  arming  of  soap  that  I 
used.  It  is  a  very  difiicult  thing  to  get  correct  soundings  in  so  rapid  a 
current,  and  in  such  deep  water. 

The  land  on  which  Obidos  is  situated  may  be  called  mountainous,  in 
comparison  to  the  general  low  land  of  the  Amazon ;  and  far  back  in  the 
direction  of  the  course  of  the  Trombetas  were  seen  some  very  respect- 
able mountains. 

The  coast,  from  the  mouth  of  the  Trombetas  to  Obidos,  is  about  one 
hundred  and  fifty  feet  in  height ;  is  of  red  earth ;  and  is  supported  upon 
red  rock,  of  the  same  nature  as  that  at  Barra.  This  rock  is  very  hard 
at  bottom,  but  softer  above,  and  many  Idng-fishers  build  their  nests  in 
it.  The  general  height  is  broken  in  one  or  two  places,  where  there  are 
small  lakes.  One  of  these,  called  Tiger  lake,  would  afford  a  good  mill- 
seat,  which  might  grind  for  six  or  seven  months  in  the  year. 

The  town  of  Obidos  proper  contains  only  about  five  hundred  inhab- 
itants ;  but  the  district  is  populous,  and  is  said  to  number  about'  four- 
teen thousand.  There  is  quite  a  large  church  in  the  town,  built  of 
stone  and  mud,  with  some  pretensions  to  architecture  ;  but,  though  only 
built  in  1826,  it  seems  already  falling  into  ruins,  and  requires  extensive 
repairs. 

There  are  several  shops,  apparently  well  stocked  with  English  and 
American  cloths,  and  French  fripperies.  I  heard  a  complaint  that  the 
trade  was  monopolized  by  a  few  who  charged  their  own  prices ;  but  I 
judged,  from  the  number  of  shops,  that  there  was  quite  competition 
enough  to  keep  the  prices  down  to  small  profits.  The  value  of  the 
imports  of  the  district  of  Obidos  is  nearly  double  tliat  of  the  exports, 
the  staple  articles  of  which  are  cacao  and  cattle. 

I  have  my  information  from  Senhor  Antonio  Monteiro  Tapajos,  who 


OBiDOS.  297 

was  very  kind  to  me  during  my  stay  in  Obidos.  He  gave  me  some 
specimens  of  Indian  pottery;  and  Ms  wife,  a  thin,  delicate-looking  lady, 
apparently  much  oppressed  with  sore  eyes  and  children,  (there  being 
nine  of  the  latter,  the  oldest  only  thirteen  years  of  age,)  gave  me  a  very 
pretty  hammock. 

Senhor  Joao  Valentin  de  Couto,  whose  acquaintance  I  made  by  acci- 
dent, gave  me  a  live  young  Peixe-boi,  which  unfortunately  died  after 
it  had  been  in  my  possession  but  a  day.  He  also  made  me  a  present  of 
some  statistical  tables  of  the  affairs  of  the  province ;  and  not  being  able 
to  find,  at  the  time,  the  report  of  the  President  that  accompanied  these 
tables,  he  had  the  courtesy  to  send  it  to  me  in  a  canoe,  after  I  had  left 
the  place  and  was  engaged  in  sounding  the  river. 

It  will  be  seen  that  here,  as  elsewhere,  during  my  travels,  I  met  with 
personal  attention,  Idndness,  and  liberality.  Every  one  whom  I  con- 
versed with  on  the  subject  of  the  Amazon  advocates  with  earnestness 
the  free  navigation  of  the  river,  and  says  that  they  will  never  thrive 
until  the  river  is  thrown  open  to  all,  and  foreigners  are  invited  to  settle 
on  its  banks.  •  think  that  they  are  sincere,  for  they  have  quite  intelli- 
gence enough  to  see  that  they  will  be  benefitted  by  calling  out  the 
resources  of  the  country. 

Obidos  has  a  college,  lately  established,  which  has  some  assistance 
from  the  government.  It  has  yet  but  twenty-four  scholars,  and  one 
professor — a  young  ecclesiastic,  modest  and  intelligent;  and  enthusiastic 
aaid  hopeful  about  the  afiairs  of  his  college. 

Antonio,  a  Portuguese,  with  whom  I  generally  got  my  breakfast,  told 
me  that  there  were  many  poisonous  serpents  in  the  neighborhood  of 
Obidos,  and  showed  me  a  black  swelling  on  the  arm  of  his  little  son, 
the  result  of  the  bite  of  a  scorpion.  In  five  minutes  after  the  boy  was 
bitten,  he  became  cold  and  senseless,  and  foamed  at  the  mouth,  so  that 
for  some  hours  his  life  was  despaired  of.  The  remedies  used  were 
homoeopathic,  and,  what  is  a  new  thing  to  me,  were  put  in  the-  corners 
of  the  eye,  as  the  boy  could  not  swallow.  I  found  homoeopathy  a 
fkvorite  mode  of  practice  from  Barra  downwards.  It  was  introduced 
by  a  Frenchman,  a  few  years  ago,  and  there  are  now  several  amateur 
practitioners  of  it. 

We  left  Obidos,  in  the  rain,  at  1  p.  m.,  on  the  29th  February.  Our 
long  stay  at  Barra  had  brought  the  rains  upon  us,  and  we  now  had  rain 
every  day. 

We  travelled  all  night,  and  at  half  past  9  a.  m.,  on  the  1st  of  March, 
we  entered  a  furo  of  the  Tajxtjos,  which,  in  one  hour  and  three-quar- 
tei's,  conducted  us  into  that  river  opposite  tlie  town  of  Santarem.     This 


298  ARRIVAL    AT    SANTAREM. 

canal  has  a  general  width  of  one  hundred  yards,  and  a  depth,  at  this 
season,  of  thirty  feet.  There  are  several  country  houses  and  ccooa  plan- 
tations on  its  banks.     It  is  called  Igarape  Assu. 

The  Tapajos  at  Santarem,  which  is  within  one  mile  of  the  mouth,  is 
about  a  mile  and  a  half  wide.  Its  waters  are  nearly  as  dark  as  thos3 
of  the  Negro ;  but,  where  stirred  with  the  paddle,  it  has  not  the  faint 
red  color  of  that  river,  but  seems  clear  white  water.  Large  portions  of 
the  surface  were  covered  with  very  minute  green  leaves  and  vegetable 
matter. 

We  presented  our  passports  and  letters  to  the  Delegado,  Senhor 
Miguel  Pinto  de  Guirnaraens,  and  obtained  lodgings  in  the  hired  house 
of  a  French  Jew  of  Par^  who  was  engaged  in  peddling  watches  and 
jewelry  in  Santarem. 


SANTAREM.  ^99 


CHAPTER  XVI. 

Santarein-Population-Trade-Eiver  Tapajos-Cuiaba-Diamond   region- 
.  Account  of  the  Indians  of  the  Tapajos. 

Santarem,  four  hundred  and  sixty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Eio 
Negro,  and  six  hundred  and  fifty  miles  from  the  sea,  is  the  largest  town 
of  the  province,  after  Para.  By  official  returns  it  numbers  four  thou- 
sand nine  hundred  and  seventy-seven  free,  (eighty-seven  being  foreign- 
ers,) and  one  thousand  five' hundred  and  ninety-one  slave  inhabitants. 
There  were  two  hundred  and  eighty-nine  births,  forty-two  deaths,  and 
thirty-two  marriages  in  the  year  1849. 

I  would  estimate  the  population  of  the  town  of  Santarem  at  about 
two  thousand  souls. '•  In  the  official  returns,  all  the  settlers  on  the  cocoa 
plantations  for  miles  around,  and  all  the  tapuios  engaged  in  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  river,  are  reckoned  in  the  estimate.  This,  I  believe,  is  the 
case  with  all  the  towns ;  and  thus  the  traveller  is  continually  surprised 
to  find  population  rated  so  high  in  places  where  he  encounters  but  few 

people. 

There  is  said  to  be  a  good  deal  of  elephantiasis  and  leprosy  among 
the  poorer  class  of  its  inhabitants.  I  did  not  visit  their  residences,  which 
are  generally  on  the  beach  above  the  town,  and  therefore  saw  nothing 
of  them ;  nor  did  I  see  much  poverty  or  misery. 

There  are  tokens  of  an  increased  civilization  in  a  marble  monument 
in  the  cemetery,  and  a  billiard  table.  The  houses  are  comfortably  fur- 
nished, though  I  believe  every  one  still  sleeps  in  a  hammock.  The  rides 
in  the  environs  are  agreeable,  the  views  picturesque,  and  the  horses  good. 
A  tolerably  good  and  well-bitted  horse  may  be  had  for  seventy-five  dol- 
lars ;  they  graze  in  the  streets  and  outskirts  of  the  town,  and  are  fed 
with  Indian  corn. 

There  is  a  church  (one  of  the  towers  has  lately  tumbled  down)  and 
two  or  three  primary  schools.  The  gentlemen  all  wear  gold  watches, 
and  take  an  immoderate  quantity  of  snuff".  I  failed  to  get  statistics  of 
the  present  trade  of  Santarem ;  but  an  examination  of  the  following 
tables  furnished  by  Mr.  Gouzennes,  the  intelligent  and  gentlemanly  vice- 
consul  of  France,  will  show  the  increase  in  the  exports  of  the  place  m 
the  three  years  between  1843  and  1846. 


300 


TRADE. 


These  tables  show  the  tonnage  and  cargoes  of  the  vessels  arriving  in 
Santarem  for  three  months  in  each  year. 

Mr.  Gouzennes  gave  me  the  table  for  1843,  and  to  M.  Castelnau  the 
table  for  1846.  He  also  gave  me  a  letter  to  M.  Chaton,  French  consul 
at  Para,  requesting  that  gentleman  to  give  me  his  tables  for  the  last 
year,  (1851  ;)  but  they  had  been  sent  to  Franco. 


Three  months 

Three  months 

of  1843. 

of  1846. 

Number  of  cre\vs 

- 

- 

300 

362 

Tonnage    - 

- 

• 

- 

647  ■ 

1,287 

Fish  -         -         - 

- 

-   arrobas 

- 

5,537 

6,402 

Peixe  boi   - 

- 

u 

- 

75    ■ 

— 

Tow  -         - 

- 

u 

- 

430 

478 

Pitch       *  - 

- 

(( 

- 

64 

.      933 

Tobacco     - 

- 

«t 

- 

499 

3,352 

Cocoa 

- 

(( 

- 

12,808 

19,940 

Sarsaparilla 

- 

« 

- 

065 

4,836 

Cloves 

.  - 

a 

- 

226 

998 

Guarana     - 

.- 

M 

- 

94 

457 

Coffee 

- 

U 

- 

369 

512 

Cotton 

- 

U 

- 

24 

226 

Cumaiu  (Tonka  beans) 

u 

- 

— 

47 

Carajuiu    - 

- 

u 

- 

2 

75 

Castanhas  - 

- 

-  alquieres 

- 

1,206 

3,709 

Farinha 

- 

u 

- 

2,428 

1,384 

Oil  of  Copaiba    - 

- 

pots 

- 

427 

3,056 

Oil  of  turtle-eggs 

- 

a 

- 

420 

1,028 

Oil  of  andirob4  - 

- 

M 

- 

11 

.29 

Mixira 

- 

- 

- 

170 

316 

Hides 

- 

-■ 

- 

— 

604 

Oxen 

- 

- 

- 

100 

85 

l*iassaba  rope     - 

- 

-     inches 

- 

— 

1,970 

I  think,  but  have  no  means  of  forming  an  accurate  judgment,  that  the 
importations  of  Santarem  have  not  incrciised  in  the  same  proportion  in 
the  years  between  1846  and  1852.  A  f«w  of  these  articles — such  as 
the  cotton,  the  coffee,  a  part  of  the  tobacco,  and  the  farinha — were 
probably  consumed  in  Santarem.  The  rest  were  reshipped  to  Para  for 
consumption  there,  or  for  foreign  exportation. 


CONNEXION  OF  THE  AMAZON  AND  LA  PLATA.     301 

The  decrease  in  the  consumption  of  farinha  is  significant,  and  shows 
an  increased  qonsumption  of  flour  from  the  United  States, 

I  had  from  Capt.  Hislop,  an  old  Scotchman,  resident  of  Santarem, 
and  who  had  traded  much  with  Cuiaba,  in  the  province  of  Matto  Grosso, 
the  following  notices  of  the  river  Tapajos,  and  its  connexion  with  the 
Atlantic,  by  means  of  the  rivers  Paraguay  and  La  Plata. 

Hence  to  the  port  of  Itaituba,  the  river  is  navigable  for  large  vessels, 
against  a  strong  current,  for  fifteen  days.  The  distance  is  about  two 
hundred  miles.  From  Itaituba  the  river  is  navigable  for  boats  of  six  or 
eight  tons,  propelled  by  paddling,  poling,  or  warping.  There  are  some 
fifteen  or  twenty  caxoieras,  or  rapids,  to  pass,  where  the  boat  has  to  be 
unloaded  and  the  cargoes  carried  round  on  the  backs  of  the  crew.  At 
one  or  two  the  boat  itself  has  to  be  hauled  over  the  land. 

Tlie  voyage  to  the  head  of  navigation  on  the  Rio  Freto,  a  confluent 
of  the  Tapajos,  occupies  about  two  months.  At  tliis  place  mules  are 
found  to  carry  the  cargo  fifteen  miles,  to  the  village  of  Diamantino, 
situated  on  the  high  lands  that  divide  the  headwaters  of  the  streams 
flomng  south  from  those  of  the  streams  flowing  north,  which  approach 
each  other  at  this  point  very  closely. 

These  high  lands  are  rich  in  diamonds  and  minerals.  I  saw  some  in 
possession  of  Capt.  Hislop.  Tlie  gold  dust  is  apparently  equal  in  quality 
to  that  I  had  seen  from  California. 

From  Diamantino  to  Cuiab4  the  distance  is  ninety  miles,  the  road 
crossing  the  Paraguay  river,  which  there,  at  some  seasons,  is  nearly  dry 
and  muddy,  and  at  others  a  rapid  and  deep  stream,  dangerous  for  the 
mules  to  pass. 

Some  years  ago  a  shorter  land-carriage  was  discovered  between  the 
headwaters  of  the  northern  and  southern  streams. 

By  ascending  the  Arinos,  a  river  which  empties  into  the  Tajyajos, 
below  the  mouth  of  the  Preto,  a  point  was  reached  within  eighteen 
miles  by  land-carriage  of  a  navigable  point  on  the  Cuiaba  river  above 
the  city.  The  boat  was  hauled  over  these  eighteen  miles  by  oxen, 
(showing  that  the  passage  can  be  neither  very  high  nor  rugged,)  and 
launched  upon  the  Cuiaba,  which  is  navigable  thence  to  the  city. 

This  was  about  three  yeare  ago ;  but  the  ti-ade,  for  some  reason,  is 
still  carried  on  by  the  old  route  of  the  Preto,  and  the  land-carriage  of 
one  hundred  and  five  miles  to  Cuiaba. 

A  person  once  attempted  to  descend  by  the  San  Manoel,  a  river  that 
rises  in  the  same  hi^-h  lands  as  the  Preto  and  Arinos,  and  empties  into 
the  Tapajos,  far  below  them ;  but  he  encountered  so  many  obstructions 
to  navigation  that  he  lost  all  but  life. 


302  CUIABA. 

The  passage  from  Diamantino  to  Santarem  occupies  about  twenty- 
six  days. 

Cuiaba  is  a  flourishing  town  of  about  ten  thousand  inhabitants,  situ- 
ated on  the  river  of  tlie  same  name,  which  is  thence  navigable  for  large 
vessels  to  its  junction  with  the  Paraguay,  which  river  is  free  from  im- 
pediments to  the  ocean.  It  is  the  chief  town  of  the  rich  province  of 
Matto  Grosso.  It  receives  its  supplies — the  ligliter  articles  of  merchan- 
dise and  luxury — by  land,  from  Rio  Janeiro;  and  its  heavier  articles — 
such  as  cannot  be  transported  on  mules  for  a  great  distance — by  this 
route  of  the  Tapajos.  These  are  principally  salt,  iron,  iron  implements, 
wines,  liquors,  arms,  crockeries,  and  guaran4,  of  which  the  people  there 
are  passionately  fond. 

•  St.  Ubes  or  Portuguese  salt  is  worth  in  Cuiaba  thirteen  and  a  half 

dollars  the  panero,  of  one  hundred  and  eight  pounds.     Lately,  however, 

.  salt  has  been  discovered  on  the  bottom  and  shores  of  a  Jake  in  Bolivia, 

neat  the  Paraguay  river.    It  undergoes  some  process  to  get  rid  of  its 

impurities,  and  then  is  sold  at  four  dollars  the  panero. 

Cuiaba  pays  for  these  things  in  diamonds,  gold  dust,  and  hides.  The 
diamond  region  is,  as  I  have  before  said,  in  the  neighborhood  of  the 
village  of  Diamantino,  situated  on  the  high  lands  that  divide  the  head- 
waters of  the  tributaries  of  the  Amazon  and  La  Plata.  M.  Castelnau 
visited  this  country,  and  I  give  the  following  extracts  from  his  account 
of  it.     He  says : 

"The  mines  of  gold,  and  especially  those  of  diamonds,  to  which  the 
city  of  Diamantino  owes  its  foundation  and  its  importance,  appear  to 
have  been  known  from  the  time  the  Paulistas  made  their  first  settle- 
ments in  the  province  of  Matto  Grosso;  but,  under  the  Portuguese 
government,  the  working  of  the  diamond  mines  was  prohibited  to  indi- 
viduals under  the  severest  penalties. 

"A  military  force  occupied  the  diamond  districts,  and  watched  the 
Crown  slaves  who  labored  in  the  search  of  this  precious  mineral.  Every 
person  finding  one  of  these  stones  was  obliged  to  remit  it  to  the  super- 
intendency  of  diamonds  at  Cuyaba,  for  which  he  received  a  moderate 
recompense,  whilst  he  would  have  been  severely  punished  if  detected  in 
appropriating  it. 

"At  this  period,  throughout  Brazil,  the  commerce  in  diamonds  was 
prohibited,  as  strictly  as  their  extraction,  to  all  except  the  special  agents 
named  by  the  government  for  this  purpose. 

"Subsequently  to  the  government  of  Jodo  Carlos,  of  whom  we  have 
already  spoken,  this  commerce  became  more  or  less  tolerated,  then  alto- 
gether free. 


DIAMOND    REGION.  "  303 

"  If,  as  we  are  assured,  the  laws  which  heretofore  governed  this  branch 
of  industry  are  not  legally  repealed,  they  have  at  least  completely  fallen 
into  disuse.  The  inhabitants  of  Diamantino  only  complain  that  the 
prohibition  of  the  slave  trade  renders  it  impossible  for  them  to  profit  by 
the  wealth  of  the  country. 

In  1746  valuable  diamonds  were  found,  for  the  first  time,  in  Matto 
Grosso,  and  were  soon  discovered  in  great  quantities  in  the  little  river  of 
Ouro.  The  governor,  Manuel  Antunes  Noyueiza,  designing  to  take 
possession  of  these  lands  for  the  benefit  of  the  Crown,  ejected  the  in- 
habitants therefrom.  Famine  made  great  ravages  among  the  wretches 
thus  deprived  of  their  homes. 

"  From  that  time  the  country  seems  to  have  suffered  every  evil.  A 
long  drought  was  followed  hj  a  terrible  earthquake  on  the  24th  Sep- 
tember, 1746.  It  was  not  until  May  13,  1805,  that  the  inhabitants 
were  again  permitted  to  take  possession  of  their  property,  but  upon 
condition  of  remitting  to  the  Crown,  under  severe  penalties,  all  the  dia- 
monds found. 

"In  1809  a  royal  mandate  established  at  Cuyaba  a  diamond  junta. 

"  Gold  and  diamonds,  which  are  always  united  in  this  region,  as  in 
many  others,  are  found  especially  in  the  numerous  water-courses  which 
furrow  it,  and  also  throughout  the  whole  country. 

"  After  the  rains,  the  children  of  Dianiantino  hunt  for  the  gold  con- 
tained in  the  earth  even  of  the  streets,  and  in  the  bed  of  the  river  Ouro, 
which,  as  has  been  said,  passes  through  the  city ;  and  they  often  collect 
to  the  value  of  one  or  two  patacas  (from  eight  to  fifteen  grains)  Brazil 
weight. 

"  It  is  related  that  a  negro,  pulling  vegetables  in  his  garden,  found  a 
diamond  in  the  earth  attached  to  the  roots.  It  is  also  said  that,  shortly 
before  our  arrival  at  Diamantino,  a  muleteer,  driving  a  stake  in  the 
ground  to  tie  his  mules  to,  found  a  diamond  of  the  weight  of  a  demi- 
oitavo,  (about  nine  carats.)  This  last  circumstance  occurred  in  the 
chapada  (table-land)  of  San  Pedro. 

"We  have  heard  it  stated  that  diamonds  are  sometimes  found  in  the 
stomachs  of  the  fowls. 

"  The  rivers  Diamantino,  Ouro,  and  Paraguay  appear  already  to  be 
completely  exhausted.  The  river  Burite  continues  to  furnish  maay 
stones ;  but  the  Santa  Anna,  so  to  speak,  is  still  virgin,  and,  notwith- 
standing the  incredible  quantity  of  diamonds  taken  from  it,  it  does  not 
appear  to  have  lost  its  primitive  richness. 

"  It  would  appear,  however,  that  diamond-hunting  is  not  as  produc- 
tive as  it  is  believed ;  for  they  quote  in  the  country,  as  very  remarkable. 


504 


DIAMOND   REGION. 


tJie  result  obtain(id  by  a  Spaniard,  Don  Simon  by  name,  who  in  four 
years,  (only  working,  it  is  true,  during  the  dry  season,  but  with  two  hun- 
dred slaves)  had  collected  four  hundred  oitavas  of  diamond?^  (about 
seven  thousand  carats.)  lie  was  obliged  to  abandon  the  work  because 
he  lost  many  slaves  in  consequence  of  the  pestilential  fevera  which  reign 
in  the  diamond  region,  and  particularly  upon  the  borders  of  the  river 
Santa  Anna.  Before  his  departure,  he  filled  up  the  place  from  whence 
he 'extracted  the  stones. 

"  Later  another  individual  found  eighty  oitavas  of  diamonds  upon 
one  point  alone  in  the  river. 

"  The  largest  diamond  taken  from  the  Santa  Anna  weighed,  it  is  said, 
three  oitavas,  (about  fifty-two  carats.)  It  waa  many  years  since,  and 
they  know  not  the  price  it  sold  for. 

"  They  assert  that  the  stones  taken  from  this  river  are  more  beautiful 
than  those  from  other  diamond  localities,  and  that  there  are  persons 
who,  in  commerce,  can  distinguish  the  difierence. 

"  It  was  very  difficult  to  obtain  from  the  inhabitants  of  Diamantino, 
who  seemed  to  think  themselves  still  under  the  Portuguese  laws  in  regard 
to  diamonds  and  gold,  exact  information  about  the  quantities  of  these 
two  minerals  exported  each  year  from  the  district.  However,  by  uniting 
the  most  positive  data,  we  have  formed  the  following  table,  which  pre- 
sents the  approximate  quantities  of  diamonds  drawn  from  the  coimtry 
from  1817  to  1845,  as  well  as  the  fluctuation  of  prices,  and.  the  number 
of  slaves  employed. 

"We  have  added  to  this  table  the  value  of  the  slaves. 
"  At  the  time  of  our  journey  about  two  thousand  persons,  of  whom 
eight  hundred  were  slaves,  were  engaged  in  this  kind  of  work. 


Years, 

Price  of  the  oita-j  Nuinb»r    of 

Number    of 

Mean  value  of 

va    in  a8tMjrt<3il 

oitavas  found 

slaves  em- 

each slave. 

stones- 

J 

in  tlie  year. 

ployed. 

181'7     -     -     - 

$20 

COO 

1,500 

8125 

1820     -     -     - 

30 

6  a  GOO 

1,500 

125 

1825     -     -     - 

30 

5  a  COO 

1,500  < 

125 

1830     -     -     - 

30 

800 

1,500 

125 

1834     -     -     - 

CO 

800 

1,500 

125 

1838     -     -     - 

15 

300 

1,200 

150 

1840     -     -     - 

100 

250 

'JOO 

200 

1844     -     -     - 

125  to  150 

200 

800 

300 

DIAMOND  REGION.  305 

"In  181 Y  a  stone  of  an  oitava  was  sold  for  two  hundred  dollars. 
"  Gold  is  worth  the  following  prices  the  oitava : 
"In  1817,  sixty-seven  and  one-half  cents. 
1820,  sixty -seven  and  one-half  cents. 
1830,  seventy-five  cents. 
1840,  one  dollar  and  sixty  cents. 
1844,  one  dollar  and  eighty  cents. 
"We  see  that  the  prices  of  diamonds  and  gold  have  advanced  since 
1817.     This  is  owing  to  three  causes : 

"  1st.  The  diminution  of  the  number  of  African  slaves,  in  consequence 
of  the  laws  against  the  slave  trade. 

"2d.  The  diminution  of  the  quantity  found. 

"3d.  The  celebrity  which  this  rich  locality  has  progi-essively  acquired, 
and  which  attracts  there  many  persons. 

"At  present  the  vintem  of  diamonds  in  very  small  pieces  is  worth  in 
commerce  from  four  and  a  half  to  five  dollars.  A  stone  of  a  demi-oitava 
would,  be  worth  now  from  two  to  three  hundred  dollars,  according  to  its 
beauty.  A  stone  of  an  oitava  would  be  worth  seven  bundred  and  fifty 
dollars. 

"Two  or  three  years  ago  a  stone  of  three-quarters  of  an  oitava  was 
sold  at  four  hundred  dollars,  and  another  of  the  same  weight  for  five 
hundred. 

"Now  there  is  scarcely  found  more  than  two  hundred  oitavas  of 
diamonds  per  annum,  and  only  two  or  three  stones  of  a  demi-oitava  and 
above. 

"The  richest  man  of  Diamantino  had  in  his  possession,  at  the  time  of 
our  journey,  two  hundred  oitavas  of  diamonds. 

"The  slaves  sell  the  diamonds  they  steal  at  two,  and  two  and  a  half 
dollars  the  vintera  ;  large  and  small,  indifferently. 

"To  recapitulate.  After  the  researches  which  I  made  at  the  places,  it 
appears  to  me  probable  that  the  quantity  of  diamonds  extracted  from 
Diamantino  and  from  Matto  Grosso  amounts,  since  the  discovery  by 
the  Paulistas  to  the  present  time,  (1849,)  to  about  sixty-six  thousand 
oitavas ;  it  must  be  remembered  that  in  this  sum  are  included  a  great 
number  of  large  stones. 

"In  estimating  the  mean  value  of  the  oitava  at  one  hundred  and; 
twenty-five  dollars,  we  arrive  at  a  total  of  about  eight  million  two  hun- 
dred and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  It  is  proper  to  add  to  this  sum  that  cjf 
the  diamonds  taken  from  the  basin  of  the  river  Claro.  Although  this 
last  yields  inconsiderably  at  present,  and  may  be  far  from  what  h  vvas 
under  the  Portuguese  government,  I  cannot  estimate  it  at  less  thanfour- 
20 


006  DIAMOND    REGION. 

teen  thousand  oitavas,  worth  about  one  million  seven  hundred  and  fifty 
thousand  dollars. 

"Thus  the  amount  of  diamonds  drawn  to  the  present  time  from  the 
province  of  Matto  Grosso  will  amount  to  about  eighty  thousand  oitavas, 
worth  ten  millions  of  dollars. 

"I  do  not  doubt  that  this  region  may  one  day  furnish,  if  it  is  sub-, 
niitted  to  a  well-conducted  exploration,  an  infinitely  larger  quantity. 
Unfortunately,  as  we  have  already  said,  the  search  for  these  stones  is 
accompanied  with  great  danger;  and  I  am  convinced  that  these  baubles 
of  human  vanity  have  already  cost,  to  Brazil  alone,  the  life  of  more  than 
a  hundred  thousand  human  beings." 

M.  Castelnau  has  given  the  value  of  diamonds  and  gold  in  the  Por- 
tuguese currency  of  reis,  and  occasionally  in  francs.  In  turning  the 
reis  into  dollars,  I  have  estimated  the  dollar  at  two  thousand  reis. 
When  I  left  Brazil,  the  Spanish  dollar  was  worth  nineteen  hundred  and 
twenty  reis,  and  the  Mexican  eighteen  hundred :  so  that  my  values  are 
under  the  mark ;  but  there  is  probably  less  error  in  this  than  in  any 
estimate  that  Castelnau  could  form  from  his  data. 

One  will  readily  perceive,  from  these  estimates,  that  diamond-hunting, 
as  a  business,  is  unprofitable.  But  this,  like  all  mining  operations,  is  a 
lottery.  A  man  in  the  diamond  region  may  stumble  upon  a  fortune  at 
an  instant  of  time,  and  without  a.  dollar  of  outlay ;  but  the  chances  are 
fearfully  against  him.  I  would  rather  depend  upon  the  supplying  of 
the  miners  with  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life,  even  by  the  long 
land-travel  from  Eio  Janeiro,  or  by  the  tedious  and  difficult  ascent  of 
the  Tapajos.  .  • 
'  M.  Castelnau,  speaking  of  this  trade,  says  that,  taking  one  article  of 
merchandise  with  another,  the  difference  of  their  value  at  Para  and 
Diamantino  is  eight  hundred  and  fifty  per  cent.,  the  round  trip  between 
the  two  places  occupying  eight  months ;  but  that  the  profits  to  the  trader 
are  not  to  be  estimated  by  the  enormous  difference  of  the  value  of  the 
merchandise  at  the  place  of  purchase  and  the  place  of  sale.  lie  esti- 
mates the  expenses  of  a -boat  of  nine  tons  (the  largest  that  can  ascend 
the  river)  at  eight  hundred  and  eighty  dollars.  Her  cargo,  bought  at 
Para,  cost  there  but  three  hundred  and  fifty-five  dollars :  so  that  when 
it  arrives  at  Diamantino  it  has  cost  twelve  hundred  and  thirty-five  dol- 
lars ;  thus  diminishing  the  profits  to  the  trader  to  about  two  hundred 
and  forty-four  per  cent. 

I  do  not  find  in  Castelnau's  estimate  of  the  expenses  of  a  canoe  tlie 
labor  and  time  employed  in  shifting  tlie  cargo  at  Santarem  from  tlie 


TRADE.  307 

large  vessel  to  tte  boats.  This  would  probably  take  oflF  the  extra 
forty-four  per  cent.,  leaving  a  clear  profit  of  two  hundred.  This  is 
on  the  upward  voyage.  His  return-cargo  of  hides,  with  what  gold 
dust  and  diamonds  he  has  been  able  to  purchase,  will  also  pay 
the  trader  one  hundred  per  cent,  on  his  original  outlay,  increased  by  his 
profits. 

Let  us  suppose  a  man  sends  a  cargo  from  Para,  which  costs  him  there 
three  hundred  and  fifty  dollars.  His  two  hundred  per  cent,  of  clear  profit 
in  Diamantino  has  increased  this  sum  to  one  thousand  and  fifty.  One 
hundred  per  cent,  on  this,  the  return-cargo,  has  made  it  two  thousand 
one  hundred  dollars  ;  so  that  he  has  pocketed  a  clear  gain  of  seventeen 
hundred  and  fifty  dollars,  making  a  profit  of  five  hundred  per  cent,  in 
eight  months. 

Although  there  seems,  from  the  accounts  we  have  of  the  Tapajos, 
no  chance  of  a  steamer's  reaching  the  diamond  region  by  that  river, 
yet  I  have  very  little  doubt  but  that  she  may  reach  it  by  the  rivers 
Plata,'  Parana,  and  Paraguay.  Should  this  be  the  case,  and  should 
Brazil  have  the  magnanimity  to  throw  open  the  diamond  region  to  all 
comers,  and  encourage  them  to  come  by  promises  of  protection  and 
privileges,  I  imagine  that  this  would  be  one  of  the  richest  places  in  the 
world,  and  that  Brazil  would  reap  enormous  advantages  from  such  a 
measure. 

The  place  at  present  is  too  thinly  settled,  and  the  wants  of  the  people 
too  few,  to  make  this  trade  (profitable  as  it  appears  to  be  on  the  small 
scale)  of  any  great  importance. 

Captain  Hislop  monopolized  at  one  time  nearly  all  (he  trade  of  the 
Tapajos.  He  told  me  that  some  years  ago  he  sent  annually  to  Cuiabn 
goods  to  the  value  of  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  dollars,  and  supposes 
that  all  other  commercicmtes  together  did  not  send  as  much  more.  He 
complains,  as  all  do,  of  the  credit  system,  and  says  that  the  Cuiabanos 
now  owe  him  twenty  thousand  doll^. 

The  trade  now  is  almost  nothin^F  The  Cuiabanos  themselves  come 
down  to  get  their  supplies,  which  they  pay  for  principally  in  hides. 

I  made  several  pleasant  acquaintances  in  Santarem.  One  of  the  most 
agreeable  was  a  young  French  engineer  and  architect,  M.  Alphonse 
Mauf/hi  Be  Lincourt^  to  whom  I  am  indebted  for  some  valuable  pres- 
ents, much  interesting  conversation,  and  the  following  notes  of  a  voyage 
on  the  Tapajos,  which,  as  describing  the  manners  and  customs  of  the 
Indian  tribes  occupying  the  borders  of  that  river,  I  am  persuaded  will 
not  be  uninteresting. 


308  VOYAGE    ON    THE    TAPAJOS. 

Fragments  of  travels  from  Itaituha  to  the  cataract."  of  the  Tapajos,  and 
among  the  Mundrucus  and  Maues  Indians. 

"As  soon  as  the  Brazilian  (the  principal  authority  of  the 

little  port  of  Itaituba)  had  procured  me  some  Indians  and  a  small  canoe, 
called  in  the  country  canoa  de  Caxoeiras,  I  left  this  place  for  the  purpose 
of  visiting  the  great  cataracts  of  the  river  Tapajos. 

"  I  was  the  only  white  man  among  nine  Indians,  none  of  whom,  with 
the  exception  of  the  Indian  hunter,  could  understand  me.  I  cannot  ex- 
press what  I  at  first  suffered  in  thus  finding  my  life  at  their  mercy.  The 
boat,  under  the  efforts  of  these  nine  pagans,  had  more  the  motion  of  an 
arrow  than  that  of  a  boat  ascending  against  the  current  of  a  river. 

"Only  seeking  the  principal  falls  of  the  Tapajos,  we  passed,  without 
stopping,  over  those  of  Tapacura,  Assu,  and  Pracau,  and,  continuing  our 
route  to  the  large  ones,  we  arrived  there  the  following  day,  without 
having  met  with  anything  remarkable  to  relate. 

"There  the  scene  changed.  The  river  is  no  longer  the  calm  Tapajos 
which  slowly  moves  towards  the  Amazon ;  it  is  the  foaming  Maranhao, 
the  advance  cataract  of  the  narrow  and  deep  Caxoeira  das  Furnas ;  it 
is  the  roai-ing  and  terrible  coata,  whose  curi-ents  cross  and  recross,  and 
dash  to  atoms  all  they  bear  against  its  black  rocks. 

"We  surmounted  all  in  the  same  day.  Seated  motionless  in  the 
middle  of  the  canoe,  I  often  closed  my  eyes  to  avoid  seeing  the  dangers 
I  escaped,  or  the  perils  that  remained  to  be  encountered. 

"  The  Indians — sometimes  rowing  with  their  little  oars,  sometimes 
using  their  long,  iron-bound  staffs,  or  towing  the  boat  while  swimming, 
or  carrying  it  on  their  shoulders — landed  me  .at  last  on  the  other  side  of 
the  Caxoeiras. 

"  Arrived  at  the  foot  of  the  fifth  cataract,  the  Indians  hesitated  a 
moment  and  then  rowed  for  the  shore.  Whilst  some  were  employed 
in  making  a  fire,  and  others  in  fastening  the  hammocks  to  the  forest 
trees,  the  hunter  took  his  bow  an^kvo  arrows,  and  such  is  the  abund- 
ance which  reigns  in  these  countries,  that  a  moment  afterwards  he  re- 
turned with  fish  and  turtles. 

"  The  Indians,  exhausted  from  the  fatigues  of  the  day,  were  not  able 
to  watch  that  night.  I  was  sentinel,  for  these  shores  are  infested  by 
tigers  and  panthers.  Walking  along  the  beach  to  prevent  sleep,  I 
witnessed  a  singular  spectacle,  but  (as  I  was  informed  by  the  inhabitants) 
one  of  frequent  occurrence.  An  enormous  tiger  was  extended  full  length 
upon  a  rock  level  with  the  water,  about  forty  paces  from  me.  From 
time  to  time  he  struck  the  water  with  his  tail,  and  at  the  same  moment 


VOYAGE    OX    THE    TAPAJOS.  309 

raised  one  of  his  fore-paws  and  seized  fish,  often  of  an  enormous  size. 
These  last,  deceived  by  the  noise,  and  taking  it  for  the  fall  of  forest 
fruits,  (of  which  they  are  very  fond,)  unsuspectingly  approach,  and 
soon  fall  into  the  claws  of  the  traitor.  I  longed  to  fire,  for  I  had  with 
me  a  double-barrelled  gun ;  but  I  was  alone,  and  if  I  missed  my  aim 
at  night  I  risked  my  life,  for  the  American,  tiger,  lightly  or  mortally 
wounded,  collects  his  remaining  strength  and  leaps  with  one  bound 
upon  his  adversary. 

"I  did  not  interrupt  him,  and  when  he  w^as  satisfied  he  went  off. 
The  next  day  w^e  passed  the  difficult  and  dangerous  cataract  of  Apmj. 
The  canoe  was  carried  from  rock  to  rock,  and  I  followed  on  foot  through 
the  forest. 

"The  farther  we  advance  in  these  solitudes,  the  more  fruitful  and 
prodigal  nature  becomes ;  but  where  life  superabounds,  evil  does  not  less 
abound.  From  the  rising  to  the  setting  of  the  sun  clouds  of  stinging 
insects  blind  the  traveller,  and  render  him  frantic  by  the  torments  they 
cause.  Take  a  handful  of  the  finest  sand  and  throw  it  above  your  head, 
and  you  would  then  have  but  a  faint  idea  of  the  number  of  these 
demons  who  tear  the  skin  to  pieces. 

"It  is  true,  these  insects  disappear  at  night,  but  only  to  give  place  to 
others  yet  more  formidable.  Large  bats  (true,  thirsty  vampires)  lit- 
erally throng  the  forests,  cling  to  the  hammocks,  and,  finding  a  part  of 
the  body  exposed,  rest  lightly  there  and  drain  it  of  blood. 

"At  a  station  called  by  the  Indians  Tucunare-cuoh'e,  where  we  passed 
the  night,  one  of  them  was  bitten,  whilst  asleep,  by  one  of  these  vam- 
pires, and  awoke  exceedingly  enfeebled. 

"  In  the  same  place  the  alligators  were  so  mimerous  and  so  bold,  and 
the  noise  they  made  so  frightful,  that  it  wa^  impossible  to  sleep  a 
moment. 

"The  next  day  I  overtook  a  caravan  of  Cuyabanos,  who  had  leftltai- 
tuba  before  me.  They  went  ther^o  exchange  diamonds  and  gold  dust 
for  salt  and  other  necessary  comnioaities,  and  were  retm'ning  with  them 
to  Cuyaba. 

"They  had  passed  a  day  at  Tucunare  cuoire,  and  had  slept  there. 

"Thinking  that  I  was  a  physician,  one  of  them  begged  me  to  exam- 
ine the  recent  wounds  of  a  companion.  In  vain  I  refused.  He  still  con- 
tinued his  importunities,  lavishing  upon  me  titles  of  Seigneur  and 
Signer  Doctor,  as  if  he  had  been  in  the  presence  of  M.  Orfila. 

"  I  went  with  him.  The  wounded  man  was  a  young  Indian,  whom 
an  alligator  had  seized  by  the  leg  the  night  the  caravan  slept  at  Tucu- 


310  VOYAGE    ON    THE    TAPAJOS. 

nare-cuoire.  Awakened  by  his  cries,  tLe  Cuyabanos  fell  upon  the  mon- 
ster, Avho,  in  spite  of  every  thiug,  escaped. 

"  I  relieved  him  as  well  as  I  could.  I  had  with  me  but  a  scalpel, 
some  camphor,  and  a  phial  of  volatile  salts.  It  would  have  been  best 
to  amputate  the  limb,  which  was  horribly  mutilated. 

"  I  had  myself  an  opportunity  of  observing  the  dangers  and  privations 
these  men  submit  to,  to  carry  to  Cuyaba  the  commodities  necessary  there. 

"  A  caravan  called  here  Mon^ao  which  is  loaded  at  Itaituba,  for  ten 
contos  of  reis,  (five  thousand  dollars,)  wiih  salt,  guarana,  powder,  and 
lead,  arriving  in  safety  at  Cuyaba,  can  calculate  upon  fifteen  or  twenty 
contos  of  reis  profit. 

"At  Para  the  salt  can  be  sold  for  three  francs  the  alquiere;  at  Cuyaba, 
it  is  worth  one  hundred  and  fifty  francs. 

"  They  can  descend  the  river  in  forty  days;  but  it  requires  five  months 
to  ascend  it. 

"  The  forests  that  border  the  Tapajos  are  infested  by  savage  Indians, 
who  frequently  attack  the  Monfccos;  and  dangerous  fevers  sometimes 
carry  oft'  those  ^liom  the  Indian  arrow  has  spared. 

"  I  left  the  caravan  at  Sta.  Ana  dos  Caxoeiras  ;  it  continued  its  route 
towards  the  source  of  the  Tapajos,  and  I  entered  the  country  inhabited 
by  the  Mundrucus. 

"  The  Mundrucus,  the  most  warlike  nation  of  the  Amazon,  do  not  num- 
ber less  than  fifteen  or  twenty  thousand  warriors,  and  are  the  terror  of 
all  other  tribes. 

"  They  appear  to  have  a  deadly  hatred  to  the  negro,  but  a  slight 
sympathy  for  the  white  man. 

"During  the  rainy  season  they  go  to  the  plains  to  pull  the  sarsaparilla 
root,  which  they  after#ards  exchange  for  common  hai-dware  and  rum ; 
the  other  six  months  of  the  year  are  given  to  war. 

"  Each  Malacca  (village)  has  an  arsenal,  or  fortress,  where  the  warriors 
stay  at  night;  in  the  day  they  live^h  their  families. 

"  The  children  of  both  sexes  are  iM)oed  (when  scarcely  ten  years  old) 
with  a  pencil,  or  rather  a  kind  of  comb,  made  of  the  thorns  of  the 
palm-tree,  called  Muru-muru.  The  father  (if  the  child  is  a  boy)  marks 
upon  the  body  of  the  poor  creature,  who  is  not  even  permitted  to  com- 
plain, long  bloody  lines,  from  the  forehead  to  the  waist,  which  he  after- 
wards sprinkles  with  the  ashes  or  coal  of  some  kind  of  resin. 

"These  marks  are  never  effaced.  But  if  this  first  tattooing,  which  is 
compulsory  among  the  Mundrucus,  sometimes  suflSces  for  woman's  co- 
quetry, that  of  the  warriors  is  not  satisfied.  They  must  have  at  least  a 
good  layer  of  gent  2'O2)0,  (huitoc,)  or  of  roticou,  (annatto,)  upon  every 


VOYAGE  ON  THE  TAPAJOS.  311 

limb,  and  decorate  themselves  moreover  in  feathers.  "Without  that,  they 
would  consider  themselves  as  indecent  as  a  European  would  be  con- 
sidered who  would  put  on  his  coat  without  his  shirt. 

"  The  Avomen  may  make  themselves  bracelets  and  collars  of  colored 
beads,  of  shells,  and  of  tigers'  teeth,  but  they  cannot  wear  feathers. 

"  In  time  of  war  the  chiefs  have  right  of  life  and  death  over  simple 
warriors.  The  Mundrucus  never  destroy  their  prisoners ;  on  the  con- 
trary, they  treat  them  with  humanity,  tattoo  them,  and  afterward^  re- 
gard them  as  their  children. 

"This  warlike  nation,  far  from  being  enfeebled  as  other  tribes  are, 
who,  since  the  conquest  of  Brazil  by  the  Europeans,  are  nearly  annihi- 
lated, increases,  notwithstanding  the  long  wars  they  every  year  under- 
take against  the  most  ferocious  savages. 

"  Once  friends  of  the  whites,  they  yielded  to  them  the  lands  they  in- 
habited on  the  borders  of  the  Amazon,  between  the  rivers  Tapajos  and 
Madeira,  and  fled  to  live  an  independent  life,  which  they  have  never  re- 
nounced, in  .the  deep  solitudes  of  the  Tapajos  above  the  cataracts. 

"  I  visited  the  old  Mundrucu  chief,  Joaquim,  who  rendered  himself  so 
terrible  to  the  rebels  of  Para  during  the  disorders  of  1835.  He  is  a 
decrepit  old  man,  almost  paralyzed.  He  received  me  very  well,  and 
appeared  flattered  that  a  traveller  from  a  distant  country  sought  to  see 
him.  He  told  me,  in  bad  Portuguese,  '  I  am  the  TacJido,  Joaquim.  I 
love  the  whites,  and  have  never  betrayed  them.  I  left  my  friends,  my 
cacoaes,  (cocoa  plantations,)  and  my  house  on  the  borders  of  the  Madeira 
to  defend  them.  How  many  Cabanos  (insurgents)  have  I  not  killed 
Vv'hen  I  showed  my  war  canoe  that  never  fled  ? 

"  Now  I  am  old  and  infirm  ;  but   if  I  remain  in  the  midst  of  these  . 
women,  and  do  not  soon  leave  for  the  fields  to  chase  away  these  brigands 
of  Muras,  who  lay  Avaste  my  cacoaes,  I  will  be  bewitched  and  die  here 
like  a  dog. 

"The  Mundrucus  do  not  believe  Uiat  diseases  afflict  them.  When  a 
prey  to  them,  they  say  it  is  a  spell  some  unknown  enemy  has  cast  over 
them ;  and  if  the  Puge,  or  Magician  of  the  IMalocca,  interrogated  by 
the  family  of  the  dying  man,  names  a  guilty  person,  he  whom  he  names 
may  count  upon  his  death. 

"  I  have  heard  afterwards  that  when  he  was  fighting  so  generously 
with  his  Mundrucus  for  the  cause  of  the  white  man,  a  Brazilian  colonel, 
who  commanded  the  expedition,  ordered  him  to  pull  manioc  roots  in  a 
field  supposed  to  be  in  the  power  of  the  rebels.  The  chief  was  furious, 
and,  angrily  eyeing  the  Brazilian,  said,  '  Dost  thou  believe  my  canoe 


312  VOYAGE    ON    THE    TAPAJOS. 

is  made  to  carry  to  the  field  women  and  children  ?  It  is  a  war  canoe, 
and  not  a  boat  to  bring  thee  farinha.' 

"This  same  colonel  revenged  himself  for  this  refusal  by  calumniating 
to  the  Emperor  the  conduct  of  the  brave  Mundrucu ;  and  on  that 
representation  the  court  objected  to  recompense  him.  He  remained 
poor  as  an  Indian,  when,  according  to  the  example  of  the  Brazilian  offi- 
cers, he  could  have  amassed  wealth.  He  is  old  now,  and  has  no  heir, 
becajise  he  has  only  daughters. 

"  The  next  day  he  came  to  see  me,  and  begged  me  to  cure  his  nephew, 
a  young  Indian  of  eighteen  or  twenty  years,  whom  he  dearly  loved,  and 
whom  he  would  have  had  inherit  his  courage  and  his  titles ;  but  the 
poor  devil  had  nothing  of  the  warrior,  and  every  day,  for  several  hours, 
had  an  epileptic  attack.  I  again  had  recourse  to  the  phial  of  salts ; 
gave  him  some  for  the  sick  man  to  smell  at  the  time  of  the  attacks ;  and 
also  directed  that  he  should  drink  some  drops  weakened  with  water. 

"  The  remedy  had  a  good  effect.  The  attacks  became  less  frequent 
and  long ;  and  during  the  three  days  I  remained  in  the  neighborhood  of 
the  Malocca  the  old  Tuchao  came  every  day  to  thank  me ;  pressed  my 
hands  witli  atfection,  and  brought  me  each  time  different  small  presents — 
fruits,  birds,  or  spoils  taken  heretofore  from  an  enemy. 

"  From  Santa  Ana,  where  I  crossed  the  river,  I  determined  to  enter 
the  forests,  and  not  to  descend  by  the  cataracts.  Six  Indians  went  back 
with  the  boat  to  Itaituba ;  the  three  others  remained  to  accompany  me 
to  the  Mahues  Indians,  whom  no  European  traveller  had  visited,  and. 
whom  I  much  desired  to  know. 

"  The  Indian  hunter,  to  whom  I  gave  one  of  my  guns,  carried  my 
hammock  and  walked  in  front.  I  followed  him,  loaded  with  a  gun  and 
a  sack,  (which  contained  ammunition,)  my  compass,  paper,  pencils, 
and  some  pieces  of  guarana.  The  other  two  Indians  walked  behind 
carrying  a  little  manioc  flour,  travelling  necessaries,  and  a  small  press  to> 
dry  the  rare  plants  that  I  might  collect  on  my  journey. 

"  We  followed  a  narrow  pathwa^  sometimes  across  forests,  uneven, 
and  muddy,  broken  by  small  pebbly  rivulets,  the  water  of  which  is 
occasionally  very  cold ;  sometimes  climbing  steep  mountains,  through 
running  vines  and  thorny  palm-trees.  I  was  covered  with  a  cold  and 
heavy  sweat,  which  forced  me  to  throw  off  my  garment,  preferring  to 
endure  the  stings  of  myriads  of  insects  to  the  touch  of  a  garment 
that  perspiration  and  the  humidity  of  the  forest  had  chilled. 

"  Towards  five  o'clock  we  stopped  near  a  rivulet ;  for  in  these  forests 
it  soon  becomes  night.    The  Indians  made  a  fire  and  roabted  the  birds 


VOYAGE    ON    THE    TAPAJOS.  313" 

and  monkeys  that  tlie  hunter  had  killed.  I  selected  a  parrot  for 
supper. 

"  The  following  day  we  arrived,  about  nightfall,  at  the  Indian  village 
of  Mandu-assu. 

"  The  Mahues  Indians  do  not  tattoo  the  body  as  the  Mundrucus,  or, 
if  they  do,  it  is  only  with  the  juice  of  vegetables,  which  disappears  after 
four  or  five  days. 

"  Formerly,  when  they  were  enemies  of  the  white  man,  they  were 
conquered  and  subdued  by  the  Mundrucus.  At  present  they  live  in 
peace  with  their  neighbors,  and  willingly  negotiate  with  the  whites. 

"  The  men  are  well  formed,  robust,  and  active ;  the  women  are  gen- 
erally pretty.  Less  warlike  than  the  Mundrucus,  they  yield  willingly  to 
civilization  ;  they  surround  their  neat  cabins  with  plantations  of  banana 
trees,  coffee,  or  guarana. 

The  precious  and  medicinal  guarana  plant,  which  the  Brazilians  of 
the  central  provinces  of  Goyaz  and  Matto  Grosso  purchase  with  its 
weight  in  gold,  to  use  against  the  putrid  fevers  which  rage  at  certain 
periods  of  the  year,  is  owed  to  the  Mahues  Indians.  They  alone  know 
how  to  prepare  it,  and  entirely  monopolize  it. 

"  The  Tuch§,o  of  the  Malocca,  called  Mandu-assu,  received  me  with 
cordiality,  and  offered  me  his  cabin.  Fatigued  from  the  journey,  and 
finding  there  some  birds  and  rare  plants,  I  remained  several  days. 

"  Mandu-assu  marvelled  to  see  me  carefully  preserve  the  birds  the 
hunter  killed,  and  the  leaves  of  plants,  or  wood,  that  possessed  medicinal 
virtues.  He  never  left  me ;  accompanied  me  through  the  forests,  and 
gave  me  many  plants  of  whose  properties  I  was  ignorant. 

"  Rendered  still  more  communicative  by  the  small  presents  I  made 
him,  he  gave  me  not  only  all  the  particulars  I  wished  upon  the  cultiva- 
tion and  preparation  of  the  guarana,  but  also  answered  fully  all  my 
questions. 

"  I  left  him  for  the  Malocca  of  Mossc,  whose  chief  was  his  relative. 
This  chief  was  more  distant  and  savage  than  Mandu-assu,  and  received 
me  with  suspicion.  I  was  not  discouraged,  as  I  only  went  to  induce 
him  to  exchange,  for  some  articles,  his  parted,  or  complete  apparatus 
for  taking  a  kind  of  snuff  which  the  great  people  of  the  country  fre- 
quently use. 

"  My  cause,  however,  was  not  altogether  lost ;  my  hunter,  who  had 
been  in  a  cabin  of  the  village,  took  me  to  see  a  young  Indian  who  had 
been  bitten  the  evening  previous  by  a  Hurucucurano  serpent.  I  opened 
the  wound,  bled  him,  and  again  used  the  volatile  salts.  Whilst  I 
operated,  a   young  Indian  woman,  singularly  beautiful,  sister  of  the 


314  VOYAGE  ON  THE  TAPAJOS. 

wounded  man,  supported  tlie  leg.  She  watched  me  with  astoni-luncnt, 
and,  wljilst  I  was  binding  up  the  wound  with  cotton  soaked  in  alkali, 
(salts,)  she  disappeared,  and  I  saw  her  no  more. 

"  The  Indian  was  relieved.  The  old  Tuchao  knew  of  it;  and,  to  thank 
me  for  it,  or  rather,  I  believe,  to  test  rae^  presented  me  with  a  calabash, 
in  which  he  poured  a  whitish  and  disgusting  drink,  exhaling  a  strong 
odor  of  corruption.  This  detestable  liquor  was  the  cachiri,  (masato,)  a 
drink  that  would  make  hell  vomit ;  but  tlie  Indians  passionately  love  it. 
I  knew  b}'  experience  that  by  refusing  to  drink  I  would  offend  this  proud 
Mahue,  and  that  if  I  remained  in  this  Malocca  I  should  assuredly  die 
from  want,  because  even  a  calabash  of  water  would  be  refused  me.  I 
shut  my  eyes  and  drank. 

"  The  cachiri  is  the  substance  of  the  manioc  root,  softened  in  hot 
water,  and  afterwards  chewed  by  the  old  women  of  the  ^lalocca.  They 
spit  it  into  great  earthen  pans,  when  it  is  exposed  to  a  brisk  fire  until 
it  boils.  It  is  then  poured  into  pots  and  suffered  to  stand  until  a  putrid 
fermentation  takes  place. 

"  The  Indian  afterwards  took  his  parica.  He  beat,  in  a  mortar  of 
sapucaia,  a  piece  of  hard  paste,  which  is  kept  in  a  box  made  of  a  shell; 
poured  this  pulverized  powder  upon  a  dish  presented  by  another  Indian, 
and  with  a  long  pencil  of  hairs  of  the  tamandua  handeira,  he  spread  it 
evenly  without  touching  it  with  the  fingers ;  then  taking  pipes  joined 
together,  made  of  the  quills  of  the  gaviao  real,  (royal  eagle,)  and  placing 
it  under  his  nose,  he  snufled  up  with  a  strong  inspiration  all  the  powder 
contained  in  the  plate.  Ilis  eyes  started  from  his  head;  his  mouth  con- 
tracted ;  his  limbs  trembled.  It  was  fearful  to  see  him  ;  he  was  obliged 
to  sit  down,  or  he  would  have  fiillen  ;  he  was  drunk,  but  this  intoxica- 
tion lasted  but  five  minutes  ;  he  was  then  gayer. 

"  Afterwards,  by  many  entreaties,  I  obtiiined  from  hhn  his  precious 
parica,  or  rather  one  of  them,  for  he  possessed  two. 

"  At  the  Malocca  of  Tar/uariti,  where  I  was  the  next  day,  the  Tuchslo, 
observing  two  young  children  returning  from  the  woods  laden  with 
sarsaparilla,  covered  v.ith  perspiration,  and  overcome,  as  much  by  the 
burden  they  earned  as  the  distance  they  had  travelled,  called  them  to 
him,  beat  some  paridi,  and  compelled  them  to  snuff  it. 

'*  I  then  undei^tood  that  a  Tuchao  Mahue  had  a  paternal  authority 
in  liis  Malocca,  and  treated  all  as  his  own  children.  He  forced  these 
children  to  take  the  parica,  convinced  that  by  it  they  avoided  fevers 
and  other  diseases.  And,  in  truth,  I  soon  saw  the  children  leave  tho 
cabin  entirely  refreshed,  and  run  playing  to  the  brook  and  throw  them- 
selves in. 


VOYAGE  ON  THE  TAPAJOS.  315 

"  Several  vegetable  substances  compose  parica :  first,  tlie  asbes  of  a 
vine  tbat  I  cannot  class,  not  baving  been  able  to  procure  tbe  flowei's ; 
second,  seeds  of  tbe  acacia  angico,  of  tbe  leguminous  family ;  tbird, 
juice  of  tbe  leaves  of  tbe  ahuta,  (cocculus)  of  tbe  menisperraes  family. 
"  I  never  saw  a  Mabue  Indian  sick,  nor  ever  beard  tbem  complain  of 
tbe  sligbtest  pain,  notwitbstanding  tbat  tbe  forests  tbey  inbabit  are  tbe 
birtbplaces  of  dangerous  fevers,  wbicb  rarely  spare  tbe  Brazilian  mer. 
cbants  wbo  come  to  purcbase  sai'saparilla  root. 

"I  bad  often  beard  of  tbe  great  Tucbao,  Socano  cbief,  and  king  of 
tbe  Mabue  nation,  wbo,  (unlike  tbe  kings  of  France,)  notwitbstanding 
tbe  urgent  entreaties  of  bis  subjects,  abdicated  in  favor  of  bis  brotber, 
and  retired  apart  in  a  profound  solitude,  to  pass  tbere  tranquilly  tbe  re- 
mainder of  bis  life.  I  \visbed  to  see  tbis  pbilosopber  of  tbe  New  World 
before  going  to  Itaituba,  from  wbicb  I  was  eleven  days'  journey  on 
foot. 

"I  went  again  to  Massu  to  see  tbe  Indian  bitten  by  tbe  serpent,  and 
perbaps  a  little,  also,  to  see  tbe  Indian  girl.  He  was  still  lame,  but 
walked,  bowever,  better.  Tbe  girl  was  incorruptible.  Promises,  brace- 
lets, collars  of  pearl,  (false) — all  were  useless. 

"Witbout  wisbing  to  attack  tbe  virtue  of  tbe  Mundrucus  women,  I 
was  induced  to  believe  sbe  would  be  more  cbaritable,  because  in  tbe 
wbole  Mundrucuanie  it  is  not  proved  tbat  tbere  exists  a  dragon  of  sucb 
virtue  as  to  resist  tbe  temptation  of  a  small  glass  of  rum. 

"I  assisted  at  an  Indian  festival  so  singular  tbat  it  is  only  in  use 
among  tbe  true  Mabues.  Following  tbe  example  of  tbe  otber  nations  of 
Brazil,  (wbo  tattoo  tbemselves  witb  tborns,  or  pierce  tbe  nose,  tbe  lips, 
and  tbe  ears,)  and  obeying  an  ancient  law  wbicb  commands  tbese  dif- 
ferent tortures,  tbis  baptism  of  blood,  to  babituate  tbe  warriors  to  despise 
bodily  sufferings,  and  even  deatb,  tbe  Mabues  bave  preserved  from  tbeir 
ancestors  tbe  great  festival  of  tbe  Tocandeira. 

"An  Indian  is  not  a  renowned  Mabue,  and  cannot  take  a  wife,  until 
be  nas  passed  bis  arms  at  least  ten  times  tbrougb  long  stalks  of  tbe 
palm-tree,  filled  intentionally  witb  large,  venomous  ants.  He  wbom  I 
saw  receive  tbis  terrible  baptism  was  not  sixteen  years  old.  Tbey  con- 
ducted bim  to  tbe  cbiefs,  wbere  tbe  instruments  awaited  bim ;  and,  wben 
mutSed  in  tbese  terrible  mittens,  be  was  obliged  to  sing  and  dance 
before  every  cabin  of  tbe  Malocca,  accompanied  by  music  still  more 
borrible.  Soon  tbe  torments  be  endured  became  so  great  tbat  be 
staggered.  (Tbe  fatber  and  relatives  dread,  as  tbe  gi-eatest  disbonor  tbat 
can  befall  tbe  family,  a  cry  or  a  weakness  on  tbe  part  of  tbe  young 


316  VOYAGE    ON    THE    TAPAJOS. 

martyr.  They  encourage  and  support  him,  often  by  dancing  at  his 
side.)  At  length  he  came  to  the  last  cabin ;  he  was  pallid ;  his  teeth 
chattered ;  his  anus  were  swollen ;  he  went  to  lay  the  gloves  before  the 
old  chief,  where  ho  still  had  to  endure  the  congratulations  of  all  the 
Indians  of  the  Malocca.  Even  the  young  girls  mercilessly  embraced 
him,  and  dragged  him  through  all  their  circles ;  but  the  Indian,  insensi- 
ble to  their  caresses,  sought  only  one  thing — to  escape.  At  length  he 
succeeded,  and,  throwing  himself  into  the  stream,  remained  there  until 
night. 

"The  Tocandeira  ants  not  only  bite,  but  are  also  armed  with  a  sting 
like  the  wasp ;  but  the  pain  felt  from  it  is  more  violent.  I  think  it 
equal  to  that  occasioned  by  the  stiug  of  the  black  scorpion. 

"In  one  of  my  excursions  in  the  environs  of  the  Malocca  of  Mandu- 
assu,  I  had  occasion  to  take  several  of  them.  I  enclosed  them  in  a 
small  tin  box.  I  afterwards  let  one  bite  me,  that  I  might  judge  in  a 
slight  degree  what  it  costs  the  young  Mahues  to  render  themselves 
acceptable.  I  was  bitten  at  10  a.  m.  I  felt  an  acute  pain  from  it  until 
evening,  and  had  several  hours'  fever. 

"At  Mandu-assu  I  was  invited  to  a  great  festival  of  the  Malocca. 
The  chief  kept  me  company;  the  people  remained  standing,  and  ate 
afterwards.  As  the  Mahues  are  less  filthy  than  the  Mundrucus,  I  ate 
with  a  little  less  disgust  than  with  the  last,  who  never  took  the  trouble  to 
skin  the  monkeys  or  deer  they  killed,  but  were  contented  with  cutting 
them  to  pieces,  and  throwing  them  pell-mell  in  large  earthen  pots,  where 
meat,  hair,  feathei-s,  and  all  were  cooked  together.  The  Mahues  at 
least,  though  they  did  not  pick  the  game,  burnt  the  hair  and  roastecl  the 
meat. 

"The  next  day  I  departed  for  the  Socano  country.  The  Indians  who 
accompanied  me,  having  no  curiosity  to  see  the  old  Indian  king,  already 
tired  of  the  journey,  and  seeing  it  prolonged  four  or  five  days  independ- 
ent of  the  eleven  it  would  require  to  reach  Itaituba,  concerted  to  deceive 
me  by  conducting  me  through  a  pathway  which  they  thought  led  to  a 
port  of  the  river  Tapajos,  and  where  the^^  hoped  to  find  some  Brazilians 
of  Itaituba  with  their  canoes  loaded  with  sarsaparilla.. 

"In  trying  to  lead  me  by  a  false  route,  they  deceived  themselves;  for 
we  walked  two  long  days,  and  the  pathway,  which  was  but  a  hunter's 
track,  finally  entirely  disappeared.  I  was  ignorant  of  the  position  of 
th%  Malocca  I  wa.s  seeking.  I  only  heard  it  would  be  found  nearer 
the  river  Madeira  than  the  Tapajos.  I  wished  to  cut  across  the  woods 
and  journey  towards  the  west ;  the  Indians  were  discouraged,  and  fol- 


VOYAGE    ON    THE    TAPAJOS.  317 

lowed  me  uawi]lingl3^  We  passed  a  part  of  the  third  day  in  the  midst 
of  nigged  and  inundated  forests,  where  I  twice  sank  in  mud  to  the 
waist. 

"  The  hunter  could  kill  nothing;  and  when,  towards  the  evening,  I 
wished  to  take  some  food,  I  could  only  find  a  half-knawed  leg  of  faonkey. 
The  Indians  had  not  left  me  even  a  grain  of  farinha.  Being  near  a 
stream,  I  grated  some  guarana  in  a  calabash  and  drank  it  without  sugar, 
for  they  had  left  me  none. 

'  Not  daring  to  res^  for  fear  of  being  unable  to  rise,  we  immediately 
resumed  our  journey.  Having  again  walked  two  hours  across  forests  of 
vines,  which  caused  me  to  stumble  at  every  step  :  or  crawling  under 
large  fallen  trees,  which  constantly  barred  our  way  ;  or  in  the  midst  of 
large  prickly  plants,  which  lacerated  my  hands,  I  arrived,  torn  and 
bruised,  at  a  small  river,  where  we  stopped. 

"  After  drinking  another  portion  of  guarana,  I  swung  my  hammock, 
but  was  soon  obliged  to  rise,  because  a  storm  had  gathered  above  us  and 
now  burst  forth. 

"If  there  is  an  imposing  scene  to  describe, it  is  that  of  a  storm  which 
rages  at  night  over  an  old  forest  of  the  New  World.  Huge  trees  fall 
with  a  great  crash ;  a  thousand  terrific  noises  resound  from  every  side  ; 
animals,  (monkeys  and  tigers,)  whom  fear  drives  to  shelter,  pass  and 
repass  like  spectre* ;  frequent  flashes  of  lightning  ;  deluging  torrents  of 
rain— all  combine  to  form  a  scene  from  which  the  old  poets° might  have 
drawn  inspiration  to  depict  the  most  brilliant  night  of  the  empire  of 
darkness. 

"Towards  midnight  the  storm  ceased;  all  became  tranquil,  and  I 
swung  my  hammock  anew.  The  next  day  I  awoke  with  a  fever.  I 
drank  guarana  made  more  bitter  than  usual,  and  we  started.  The  hun- 
ter met  a  band  of  large  black  monkeys.  He  killed  five  of  them.  The 
Indians  recovered  courage ;  for  myself,  I  could  proceed  no  further,  so 
great  were  the  pains  I  suffered  from  my  feet  to  my  knees.  The  fever 
weakened  me  so  much  that  I  carried  my  gun  with  difilculty ;  but  I 
would  not  abandon  it.  I  had  <Jnly  that  to  animate  my  guides  and  de- 
fend myself  with. 

"By  frequently  drinking  guarana  the  fever  had  left  me  ;  but  towards 
the  evening  of  the  fifth  day,  finding  we  were  still  wandering,  and  the 
forests  becoming  deeper,  I  lost  courage  and  could  not  proceed.  The 
hunter  swung  my  hammock  and  gave  me  guarana.  The  two  others, 
perfectly,  indifferent,  were  some  paces  from  me,  employed  in  broiling  a 
monkey.     I  knew  if  I  had  not  strength  to  continue  the  journey  the  next 


31S  VOYAGE    ON    THE    TAPAJOS. 

day,  thoy  would  abandon  me  without  pity.  Already  they  answered  me 
,  insolently. 

"After  a  moment  passed  in  the  saddest  reflection,  I  called  to  the 
hunter  to  bring  me  my  travelling  case.  I  took  from  it  the  entire 
preparation  of  parica  of  the  Mosse  chief,  and  a  flask  of  arsenical  soap, 
which  I  would  not  use  except  as  the  last  resource.  I  took  the  parica 
and  did  as  I  had  seen  the  old  Indian  do.  I  instantly  fell  drunk  in  my 
hammock,  but  with  a  peculiar  intoxication,  and  which  acted  upon  my 
limbs  like  electric  shocks.  On  rising,  I  put  my  fo»t  to  the  ground,  and, 
to  my  great  surprise,  felt  no  pain.  At  first  I  thought  I  dreamed.  I  even 
walked  without  being  convinced.  At  length,  positively  sure  that  I  was 
awake,  and  there  still  remaining  two  hours  of  daylight,  I  detached  my 
hammock,  and  forced  the  Indians,  by  striking  them,  to  follow  me. 

"  When  further  on  we  stopped  to  rest,  they  brought  me  the  roast 
monkey,  Avhich  they  had  not  touched.  I  snatched  a  leg  and  ate  it  with 
voracity.  The  next  day,  constantly  compelling  myself  to  take  the  gua- 
rana,  I  had  but  slight  fever;  and  towards  the  evening,  after  a  toilsome 
jouniey,  we  arrived  at  a  miserable  Malocca,  composed  of  about  four  or 
five  Indian  cabin5." 


DEPARTURE  FROM  SANTAREM.  319 


CHAPTER  XVII. 

Departure  from  Santarem— Monte  Allegi-e—Prainha—Almeirim—Gurupa— River 
Xiugu— Great  estuary  of  the  Amazon— ludia-rubber  country— Method  of  col- 
lecting and  preparing  the  India-rubber- Bay  of  Limoeiro— Arrival  at  Pari. 

M.  Alfonse  was  more  generous  than  the  Tuchao,  for  I  could  do  nothing 
for  him ;  yet  he  gave  me  his  parica,  his  Mundrucus  gloves,  and  a  very 
valuable  collection  of  dried  leaves  and  plants,  that  he  had  gathered 
during  his  tour. 

T  spent  a  very  agreeable  day  with  him  at  the  country  house  of  M. 
Gouzennes,  situated  on  the  Igarape-assu,  about  three  miles  from  Santa- 
rem. The  house  is  a  neat  little  cottage,  built  of  ^we,  which  is  nearly 
the  same  thing  as  the  large  sun-dried  bricks,  called  by  the  Spaniards 
adobe,  though  more  carefully  prepared.  I  supposed  that  this  house, 
situated  in  the  midst  of  a  cocoa  plantation,  on  low  land,  near  the  junc- 
tion of  two  great  rivers,  under  a  tropical  sun,  and  with  a  tropical  vege- 
tation, would-  be  an  unhealthy  residence ;  but  I  was  assured  there  was 
no  sickness  here.  • 

AVe  put  up  in  earth,  for  transportation  to  the  United  States,  plants  of 
arrow-root,  ginger,  manaca,  and  some  flowers.  I  beUeve  that  some  of 
these  reached  home  alive,  and  are  now  in  the  public  garden. 

Other  gentlemen  were  also  kind  and  civil  to  me.  Mr.  Bates,  a  young 
English  entomologist,  gave  me  a  box  of  very  beautiful  butterflies;  and 
the  Vicario  Geral,  the  foetus  of  a  peixe-boi,  preserved  in  spirits.  Senhor 
Pinto,  the  Delegado, furnished  me  with  horses  to  ride;  and  I  took  most 
of  my  meals  with  Capt.  Hislop. 

An  attempt  was.made  to  murder  the  old  gentleman  a  few  weeks  be- 
fore I  arrived.  Whilst  sleeping  in  his  hammock,  two  men  rushed  upon 
him,  and  one  of  them  gave  him  a  violent  blow  in  the  breast  with  a 
knife— the  point  of  the  knife,  striking  the  breast-bone,  broke  or  bent. 
The  robbers  then  seized  his  trunk  and  made  oft;  but  were  so  hotly  pur- 
sued by  the  captain's  domestics,  whom  he  had  called  up,  that  they 
dropped  their  booty  and  fled. 

A  young  Eftglishman  named  Golden,  who  had  married  a  Brazilian 
lady,  and.was  engaged.in  traffic  on  the  river,  was  also  kind  to  me, 
giving  me  specimens  of  India-rubber  and  cotton. 

The  trade  of  Santarem  with  Para  is  carried  on  in  schooners  of  about 


320  DEPARTURE  FROM  SAXTAREM. 

one  hundred  tons  burden,  of  whicb  tlioro  were  five  or  six  lying  in  port 
whilst  I  was  there.  The  average  passage  downwards  is  thirteen,  and 
upwards  twenty-five  days.  • 

Tliore  are  several  well-stocked  shops  in  the  town,  but  business  was  at 
that  time  very  dull.  Every  body  wa^  complaining  of  it.  A  schooner 
had  been  lying  there  for  several  months,  waiting  for  a  cargo;  but  the 
siiiallness  of  the  cocoa  crop,  and  the  great  decrease  in  the  fishing  busi- 
ness, and  making  of  manteiga  for  this  year,  rendered  it  very  difficult  to 
make  up  one. 

AVe  had  a  great  deal  of  heavy  rain  during  our  stay  at  Santarem, 
(generally  at  night,)  with  sharp  lightning  and  strong  squalls  of  wind 
from  the  eastward.  The  river  rose  with  great  rapidity  for  the  last  three 
or  four  days  of  ^y  stay.  The  beach  on  which  I  was  accustomed  to 
bathe,  and  which  was  one  hundred  yards  wide  when  I  arrived,  was 
entirely  covered  when  I  left.  There  were  no  symptoms  of  tide  at  that 
season,  though  I  am  told  it  is  very  perceptible  in  the  summer  time. 
"Water  boiled  at  Santarem  at  210.5,  indicating  a  height  of  eight  hundred 
and  forty-six  feet  above  the  level  of  the  sea. 

I  left  Santarem  at  1  p.  m,,  March  28.  The  Delcgado  could  only 
muster  me  three  tapuios  and  a  pilot,  and  I  shipped  a  volunteer.  I 
believe  he  could  have  given  me  as  many  as  I  desired,  (eleven,)  but  that 
he  had  many  employed  in  the  building  of  his  new  house,  and,  moreover, 
he  had  no  conception  that  I  would  sail  on  the  day  that  I  appointed; 
people  in  this  country  never  do,  I  believe,  by  any  chance.  If  they  get 
oft'  on  a  journey  within  a  week  of  the  time  appointed,  they  think  they 
are  doing  well ;  and  I  have  known  several  instances  where  they  were  a 
month  after  the  time. 

AVhen  the  Delegado  found  that  I  would  go  with  what  men  I  had,  ho 
begged  me  to  wait  till  morning,  saying  that  the  military  commandant, 
who  had  charge  of  the  Traballiadores,  had  sent  into  the  country  for  two, 
and  was  exj>ecting  them  every  hour.  But  I  too  well  knew  that  it  was 
idle  to  rely  on  expectations  of  this  sort,  and  I  .^^ailed  at  once,  thanking 
him  for  his  courtesy. 

I  had  several  applications  to  ship  for  the  voyage  from  Indians  at 
Santarem ;  but  I  was  very  careful  not  to  take  any  who  were  engaged 
in  the  service  of  others ;  for  I  knew  that  custom,  if  not  law,  gave  the 
patron  the  ser\'ice  of  the  tapuio,  provided  this  latter  were  in  debt  to  the 
former,  which  I  believe  the  patron  always  takes  good  ctre  .shall  be  the 
case.  • 

I  paid  these  men — the  pilot  forty,  and  the  crew  thirty  cents  per  day. 
The  Ticunas,  who  formed  my  crew  from  Tabatinga  to  J5arra,  I  jmid 


MONTE     ALEGRE.  321 

partly  in  money  and  partly  in  clothes,  at  the  rate  of  four  dollars  per 
month.  I  paid  the  Muras,  from  Barra  to  Santarem,  at  the  same  rate. 
The  Peruvian  Indians  were  generally  paid  in  cotton  cloth,  at  the  rate  of 
about  twelve  and  a  half  cents  per  day.  * 

We  gave  passage  to  the  French  Jew  who  had  given  us  lodgings 
in  his  house  at  Santarem.  I  had  great  difficulty  in  keeping  the  peace 
between  him  and  Potter,  who  had  as  much  antipathy  towards  each 
other  as  an  uneducated  Frenchman  and  Englishman  might  be  supposed 
to  have. 

We  drifted  with  the  current  all  night,  and  stopped  in  the  morning  at 
a  small  cocoa  plantation  belonging  to  some  one  in  Santarem.  The 
water  of  the  river  was,  at  this  time,  nearly  up  to  the  door  of  the  house ; 
and  the  country  seemed  to  be  all  marsh  behind.  I  never  saw  a  more 
desolate,  sickly  looking  place ;  but  a  man  who  was  living  there  with 
his  wife  and  six  children  (all  strong  and  healthy  looking)  told  me  they 
were  never  sick  there.  This  ma^  told  me  that  he  could  readily  sup- 
port himself  and  his  family  but  for  the  military  service  he  was  com- 
pelled to  surrender  at  Santarem,  which  took  him  away  from  his  work 
and  his  family  for  several  months  in  every  year. 

Thirty  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  Tapajos  we  passed  the  mouth  of 
a  creek  called  Igarape  Mahjca,  which  commences  close  to  the  Tapajos. 
We  found  the  black  waters  of  that  river  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek,  and 
therefore  it  should  be  properly  called  a  furo,  or  small  mouth  of  the 
Tapajos. 

We  stopped  at  9  p.  m.  under  some  high  land  close  to  the  mouth  of 
a  small  river  called  Curua,  on  account  of  a  heavy  squall  of  wind  and 
rain. 

March  30. — ^We  passed  this  morning  the  high  lands  on  the  left  bank 
of  the  river,  among  which  is  situated  the  little  town  of  Monte  Alegre. 
This  is  a  village  of  fifteen  hundred  inhabitants,  who  are  principally 
engaged  in  the  cultivation  of  cocoa,  the  raising  of  cattle,  and  the  man- 
ufacture of  eartliern-ware,  and  drinking  cups  made  from  gourds,  which 
they  varnish  and  ornament  with  goldleaf  and  colors,  in  a  neat  and 
pretty  style.  • 

In  the  afternoon  we  crossed  the  river,  here  about  four  miles  wide, 
and  stopped  at  the  village  of  Prainha. 

Prainha  is  a  collection  of  mud  huts  on  a  slight  green  eminence  on 
the  left  bank  of  the  river,  ninety  miles  below  Santarem.  The  inhabit- 
ants, nimibering  five  hundred,  employ  themselves  in  gathering  India- 
rubber  and  making  manteiga.  The  island  opposite  the  town  having  a 
lake  in  the  centre  abounding  with  turtle. 
21 


322  PRAINHA. 

"We  saw  several  persons  at  this  place  who  were  suffering  from 
sezoens,  or  tertianas,  but  all  said  they  took  them  whilst  up  the  neigh- 
boring rivers.  If  ^^neral  accounts  are  to  be  relied  on,  there  seems  to 
be  really  no  sickness  on  the  main  trunk  of  the  Amazon,  but  only  on 
the  tributaries  ;  though  I  saw  none  on  the  Huallaga  and  Ucayali. 

I  have  no  doubt  of  the  fact  that  sickness  is  more  often  taken  on  the 
tributaries  than  on  the  main,  trunk ;  but  I  do  not  think  it  is  because 
there  is  any  peculiar  malaria  on  the  tributaries  from  which  the  main 
trunk  is  exempt.  The  reason,  I  think,  is  this ;  when  persons  leave  their 
homes  to  ascend  the  tributaries,  they  break  up  their  usual  habits  of  life, 
live  in  canoes  exposed  to  the  weather,  with  bad  and  insuflBcient  food, 
and  are  engaged  in  an  occupation  (the  collection  of  India-rubber  or 
sarsaparilla)  which  compels  them  to  be  nearly  all  the  time  wet.  It  is 
not  to  be  wondered  at  that,  after  months  of  such  a  life,  the  voyager 
should  contract  chills  and  fever  in  its  most  malignant  form. 

The  mere  traveller  passes  these  places  without  danger.  It  is  the 
enthusiast  in  science,  who  spends  weeks  and  months  in  collecting  curious 
objects  of  natural  history,  or  the  trader,  careless  of  consequences  in  the 
pursuit  of  dollars,  who  sufFere  from  the  sezoens. 

Although  there  were  a  number  of  cattle  grazing  in  the  streets  of 
Prainha,  we  could  get  no  fresh  meat ;  and  indeed,  but  for  the  opportune 
arrival  of  a  canoe  with  a  single  fish,  our  tuyuyus,  or  great  cranes,  would 
have  gone  supperless.  These  birds  frequently  passed  several  days  with- 
out food — and  this  on  a  river  abounding  with  fish,  which  shows  the 
hstless  indifierence  of  the  people. 

The  banks  of  the  river  between  Monte  Alegre  and  Gurupa  are 
bordered  with  hills  that  deserve  the  name  of  mountains.  In  this  part  of 
our  descent  we  had  a  great  deal  of  rain  and  bad  weather ;  for  wherever 
the  land  elevates  itself  in  this  country,  clouds  and  rain  settle  upon  the 
hills.  But  it  was  very  pleasant,  even  with  these  accompaniments,  to 
look  upon  a  country  broken  into  hill  and  valley,  and  so  entirely  distinct 
from  the  low  flat  country  above,  that  had  wearied  us  so  long  with  its 
changeless  monotony.^ 

About  fifty-five  miles  below  Prainha  we  passed  the  mouth  of  the 
small  river  ParU,  which  enters  the  Amazon  on  the  left  bank.  It  is  a 
quarter  of  a  mile  wide  at  its  mouth,  and  has  clear  dark  water. 

It  is  very  difficult  to  get  any  infonnation  from  the  Indian  pilots  on 
the  river.  "When  questioned  regarding  any  stream,  the  common  reply 
is,  "  It  runs  a  long  way  up ;  it  has  rapids ;  savages  live  upon  its  banks  ; 
everything  grows  there ;"   Vai  lonpe,   tern  caxoieras,   tern  gentios,  tem 


6URUPA.  323 

£u(lo.)  I  was  always  reminded  of  the  Peruvian  Indian  witli  his  hay 
platanos,  hay  yuccas,  hay  todo. 

Our  pilot,  however,  told  me  that  the  river  was  navigable  for  large 
vessels  twenty  days  to  the  first  rapids;  that  the  current  was  very  strong; 
that  there  was  much  sezoens  on  it ;  and  that  much  sarsaparilla  and 
cloves  could  be  collected  there. 

The  immediate  banks  of  the  river  at  its  mouth  are  low ;  but  close  to 
the  left  bank  commences  a  short  but  quite  high  range  of  hills,  that  runs 
parallel  to  the  Amazon. 

Six  miles  below  this  we  passed  the  village  of  Almeirhn,  on  the  left 
bank,  but  did  not  stop.  A  little  above  the  town,  and  a  quarter  of  a  mile 
from  shore,  there  was  a  strong  ripple,  which  the  pilot  said  was  caused 
by  a  ledge  of  rocks  that  are  bare  when  the  river  is  low.  There  is  plenty 
of  water  on  each  side  of  it. 

Fifty  miles  below  Almeirim  we  steered  across  the  river  for  Gurupa, 
running  under  sail  from  island  to  island.  The  river  here  is  about  ten 
miles  wide.  Large  islands  divide  it  into  the  Macapa  and  Gurupa  chan- 
nels ;  the  latter  conducting  to  Para,  the  former  running  out  to  sea  by 
the  shores  of  Guyana. 

After  crossing,  and  at  half  a  mile  from  the  right  bank,  we  fell  into  the 
dark  waters  of  the  Xingu,  whose  mouth  we  could  see  some  sis  or  eight 
miLs  above.  Fifteen  miles  further  brought  us  to  Gurupa,  where  we 
arrived  at  a  quarter  past  9  p.  m, 

Gurupa  is  a  village  of  one  street,  situated  on  a  high  grassy  point  on 
the  right  bank,  with  large  islands  in  front,  diminishing  the  width  of  the 
river  to  about  a  mile  and  a  half.  It  contains  about  three  hundred  in- 
habitants, though  the  sub-delegado  said  it  had  two  or  three  thousand ; 
and  the  official  report  states  the  number  at  over  one  thousand. 

The  principal  trade  of  the  place  is  in  India-rubber,  obtained  on  the 
Xingu  and  the  neighboring  smaller  streams.  We  found  at  this  place, 
as  at  every  other  place  below  Barra,  a  great  demand  for  salt  fish. 
Everybody  asked  us  if  we  had  any  to  sell ;  and  we  could  readily  have 
obtained  three  dollars  the  arroba,  for  which  we  had  paid  but  seventy- 
five  cents  in  Barra.  The  scarcity  of  the  fish  is  attributable  to  the  fact 
that  the  river  has  fallen  very  little  this  year;  but  I  incline  to  believe 
that  the  fish  are  not  so  plentiful,  and  that  the  people  are  not  so  active 
in  taking  them  as  before.  It  was  amusing  at  Santarem  to  see  the 
gathering  of  the  population  around  a  canoe,  recently  arrived  with  fish, 
as  if  this  were  a  thing  of  rare  occurrence.  The  people  seemed  so  lazy 
that  they  would  prefer  eating  farinha  alone,  rather  than  take  the  trouble 
to  go  down  to  the  Amazon  and  catch  fish. 


324  THE    MUNICIPAL   JUDOE. 

I  met,  atthe  house  of  the  Commandante-militar,  with  an  old  gentle' 
man  who  vras  on  his  way  to  Potto  de  Moz,  near  the  mouth  of  the 
Xingu,  to  take  the  office  of  municipal  judge  of  the  district.  He  jfeemed 
to  be  a  man  well  informed  wiih  regard  to  all  the  river  below  Barra. 
He  told  me  that  the  Xingu  was  obstructed  by  rapids  for  navigation  in 
large  vessels  within  four  days'  travel  from  its  mouth,  and  that  boats 
could  not  go  far  up  on  account  of  the  savages.  These  rapids,  however, 
cannot  be  a  serious  impediment  for  boats ;  for  I  was  told  at  Santarem 
that  the  caravans  from  Cuiaba  to  Rio  Janeiro  passed  tlie  Xingu  in 
boats,  and  found  at  that  place  porpoises  of  the  Amazon  ;  from  which 
they  inferred  that  there  were  no  falls  or  serious  obstacles  in  the  river 
below  them. 

The  judge  asked  me  for  accounts  from  Barra;  and  when  he  received 
the  usual  answer,  that  the  town  was  not  in  a  flourishing  condition,  and 
was  short  of  the  necessaries  of  life,  he  shrugged  his  shouldei-s,  (as  all  in 
the  lower  province  do  when  speaking  of  the  new  province,)  as  if  to  say, 
"  I  knew  it.'' 

He  said  that  it  might  come  to  something  in  forty  years ;  but  that 
nothing  could  be  expected  of  a  place  that  furnished  nothing  to  com- 
meroo  but  a  few  oils,  and  a  little  ptassaha,  and  where  the  population 
was  composed  of  Muras  and  Araras.  Ue  spoke  bitterly  of  the  Mura 
tribe  of  Indians,  and  said  that  they  were  lazy  and  deceitful. 

According  to  his  account,  the  white  man  furnishes  the  Mura  with  a 
boat,  pays  him,  beforehand,  a  jacket,  a  shirt,  a  pair  of  trousers,  and 
a  hat;  furnishes  him  with  fish  and  farinha  to  eat,  and  tobacco  to 
smoke,  and  sends  him  out  to  take  Pirarucu ;  but  when  the  Indian  gets 
oflF,  it  is  "Good-bye  Mura;"  or,  if  he  does  come  back,  he  has  spent  so 
much  time  in  his  fishing  that  the  fish  are  not  worth  the  outlay  and  the 
time  lost. 

It  was  true,  he  said,  there  were  cattle  on  the  Rio  Branco ;  but  they 
could  only  bo  sent  for  and  traded  in  when  the  river  was  full ;  and  he 
concluded  by  making  a  great  cross  in  the  air,  and  lifting  up  his  eyes,  to 
give  vent  to  the  expression,  "  Heaven  deliver  me  from  Barra !" 

I  conversed  with  the  old  gentleman  on  some  projects  of  reform  as 
regarded  the  Indian  population.  He  thought  that  a  military  force 
should  be  employed  to  reduce  them  to  a  more  perfect  system  of  sub- 
jection, and  that  they  should,  by  all  means,  bo  compelled  to  work.  I 
told  him  that  a  Purtugueso  had  said  that  the  best  reform  that  could  bo 
made  would  be  to  hang  all  the  Indians.  My  friend  seemed  a  little 
shocked  at  this,  and  said  that  there  was  no  necessity  for  such  root-and- 
bianch  work.     Ue  said  he  would  grant  that  the  old  ones  might  be 


DEPARTURE  FROM  GURUPA.  325 

killed  to  advantage ;  but  lie  thought  they  might  be  shot  and  not  hung. 
This,  I  believe,  was  said  "  bona  fideP  I  was  amused  at  the  old  gentle- 
man's philanthropy,  and  thought  that,  as  a  judge,  he  might  have  pre- 
ferred the  hanging  process. 

I  find  that  most  of  the  gentlemen  of  the  lower  province  are  disposed 
to  sneer  at  the  action  of  the  government  in  erecting  the  Cornarca  of 
the  Rio  Negro  into  a  province  ;  but  I  think  the  step  was  a  wise  one. 
It  may  cost  the  government,  and  particularly  the  pronnce  of  Para, 
(from  which  funds  are  drawn  for  the  support  of  the  new  province,) 
some  money  to  support  it  for  a  while ;  but  if  the  country  is  to  be  im- 
proved at  all,  it  is  to  be  done  in  this  way.  By  sending  there  o-overn- 
ment  officials — people  who  know  what  living  is,  and  have  wants — and 
by  building  government  houses,  (thus  employing  and  paying  the  In- 
dians.) stimulants  are  given  to  labor,  and  the  resources  of  the  country 
are  drawn  out ;  for  these  people  who  have  gone  from  Para  and  Piio 
Janeiro  will  not  be  content  to  live  on  turtle,  salt  fish,  and  farinha. 

The  tide  is. very  apparent  at  Gurupa.  The  river  fell  several  feet  during 
the  morning  whilst  we  were  there.  This  point  is  about  five  hundred 
miles  from  the  sea. 

After  we  had  sailed,  the  Command ante-mili tar,  to  whom  I  had  ap- 
plied for  more  men,  and  who  had  told  me  there  were  none  to  be  had, 
sent  a  man  in  a  canoe  after  us.  I  suspected  so  much  courtesy,  and 
found,  accordingly,  that  the  man  (a  negro)  was  a  cripple,  and  utterly 
worthless.  He  had  evidently  been  palmed  off  upon  us  to  gei  rid  of 
him.  I  made  him  feed  the  birds  and  cook  for  the  men.  These  men 
made  the  best  and  Bardest-working  crew  I  had  during  my  voyage. 

About  thirty-five  miles  below  Gurupa  commences  the  great  estuary  of 
the  Amazon.  The  river  suddenly  flares  out  into  an  immense  bay,  which 
is  probably  one  hundred  and  fifty  miles  across  in  its  widest  part.  This 
might  appropriately  be  called  the  "  Bay  of  the  Thousand  Islands,-"  for 
it  is  cut  up  into  innumerable  channels.  The  great  island  of  Marajo, 
which  contains  about  ten  thousand  square  miles,  occupies  nearly  the 
centre  of  it,  and  divides  the  river  into  two  great  channels:  one,  the  main 
channel  of  the  Amazon,  which  runs  out  by  Cayenne ;  and  the  other,  and 
smaller  one,  the  river  of  Para,  I  imagine  that  no  chart  we  have  gives 
anything  like  a  correct  idea  of  this  bay.  The  French  brig-of-war  Bou- 
lonnatse,  some  years  ago,  passed  up  the  main  channel  from  Cayenne  to 
Obidos,  and  down  the  Para  channel,  making  a  survey.  But  she  had 
only  time  to  make  a  survey  of  the  channels  through  which  she  passed, 
leaving  innumerable  others  unexplored.  This  she  was  permitted  to  do 
through  the  liberaUty  of  Senhor  Coelbo,  the  patriotic  President  of  the 


326  THE    INDIA    RUBBER    COUNTRY. 

f 

province  ;  but  when  she  applied  for  permission  to  make  fur{her  surreys, 
she  was  sternly  refused  by  the  government  of  Rio  Janeiro. 

I  think  it  would  cost  a  steamer  a  year  of  uninterrupted  labor  to  make 
a  tolerably  correct  chart  of  this  estuary. 

At  this  point  we  turned  into  a  small  creek  that  penetrated  the  right 
bank,  and  ran  for  days  through  channels  varying  from  fifty  to  five  hun- 
dred yards  in  width,  between  innumerable  islands.  This  is  the  India- 
rubber  country.  The  shores  of  the  islands  were  all  low ;  and,  indeed, 
we  seldom  saw  the  land  at  all,  the  trees  on  the  banks  generally  standing 
in  the  water. 

We  stopped  (April  3)  at  one  of  the  establishments  on  the  river  for 
making,  or  rather  for  buying.  India-rubber.  The  house  was  built  of 
light  poles,  and  on  piles  to  keep  it  out  of  the  water,  which,  at  this  time, 
flowed  under  and  around  it.  The  owner  had  a  shop  containing  all  the 
necessaries  of  life,  and  such  articles  of  luxury  as  were  likely  to  attract 
the  fancy  of  the  Indian  gatherers  of  the  rubber.  It  was  strange,  and 
veiy  agreeable,  to  see  flour-barrels  marked  Richmond,  and  plain  and 
striped  cottons  from  Lowell  and  Saco,  with  English  prints,  pewter  ear 
and  finger  rings,  combs,  small  guitars,  cheese,  gin,  and  aguadiente,  in 
this  wild  and  secluded-looking  spot. 

This  house  was  a  palace  to  the  rude  shanty  which  the  seringero,  or 
gatherer  of  the  rubber,  erects  for  a  temporary  shelter  near  the  scene  of 
his  labors. 

The  owner  of  the  house  told  me  that  the  season  for  gathering  the 
rubber,  or  seringa,  as  it  is  here  called,  was  from  July  to  January.  The 
tree  gives  equally  well  at  all  times ;  but  the  work  cannot  be  prosecuted 
when  the  river  is  full,  as  the  whole  country  is  then  under  water.  Some, 
however,  is  made  at  this  time,  for  I  saw  a  quantity  of  it  in  this  man's 
house,  which  was  evidently  freshly  made. 

The  process  of  making  it  is  as  follows :  A  longitudinal  gash  is  made 
in  the  bark  of  the  tree  with  a  very  narrow  hatchet  or  tomahawk ;  a 
wedge  of  wood  is  inserted  to  keep  the  gash  open,  and  a  small  clay  cup 
is  stuck  to  the  tree  beneath  the  gash.  The  cups  may  be  stuck  as  close 
together  as  possible  around  the  tree.  In  four  or  five  hours  the  milk 
has  ceased  to  run,  and  each  wound  has  given  from  three  to  five  table- 
spoonfuls.  The  gatherer  then  collects  it  from  the  cups,  takes  it  to  his 
rancho,  pours  it  into  an  earthen  vessel,  and  commences  the  operation  of 
forming  it  into  shapes  and  smoking  it.  This  must  be  done  at  once,  as 
the  milk  soon  coagulates. 

A  fire  is  made  on  the  ground  of  the  seed  of  nuts  of  a  palm-tree,  of 
which  there  ai*e  two  kinds :  one  called  urucari,  the  size  of  a  pigeon's 


MAKING   INDIA    RUBBER.  327 

egg,  tkougli  longer ;  and  the  other  inaja,  which  is  smaller.  An  earthen 
pot,  with  the  bottom  knocked  out,  is  placed,  mouth  down,  over  the  fire, 
and  a  strong  pungent  smoke  from  the  burning  seeds  comes  up  through 
the  aperture  in  the  bottom  of  the  inverted  pot. 

The  maker  of  the  rubber  now  takes  his  last,  if  he  is  making  shoes,  or 
his  mould,  which  is  fastened  to  the  end  of  a  stick ;  pours  the  milk  over 
it  with  a  cup,  and  passes  it  slowly  several  times  through  the  smoke 
until  it  is  dry.  He  then  pours  on  the  other  coats  until  he  has  the  re- 
quired thickness ;  smoking  each  coating  until  it  is  dry. 

Moulds  are  made  either  of  clay  or  wood ;  if  of  wood,  it  is  smeared 
with  clay,  to  prevent  the  adhesion  of  the  milk.  When  the  rubber  has 
the  required  thickness,  the  moulds  are  either  cut  out  or  washed  out. 

Smoking  changes  the  color  of  the  rubber  very  little.  After  it  is  pre- 
pared, it  is  nearly  as  white  as  milk,  and  gets  its  color  from  age. 

The  most  common  form  of  the  India-rubber  of  commerce  is  that  of  a 
thick  bottle ;  though  it  is  also  frequently  made  in  thick  sheets,  by  pour- 
ing the  milk  over  a  wooden  mould,  shaped  like  a  spade,  and,  when  it 
has  a  coating  sufficiently  thick,  passing  a  knife  around  three  sides  of  it, 
and  taking  out  the  mould.  I  should  think  this  the  least  troublesome 
form,  and  the  most  convenient  for  transportation. 

From  twenty  to  forty  coats  make  a  pair  of  shoes.  The  soles  and 
heels  are,  of  course,  given  more  coats  than  the  body  of  the  shoe.  The 
figures  on  the  shoes  are  made  by  tracing  them  on  the  rubber  whilst  soft 
with  a  coarse  needle  or  bit  of  wire.  This  is  done  in  two  days  after  the 
coating.  In  a  week  the  shoes  are  taken  from  the  last.  The  coating 
occupies  about  twenty-five  minutes. 

An  industrious  man  is  able  to  make  sixteen  pounds  of  rubber  a  day ; 
but  the  collectors  are  not  industrious.  I  heard  a  gentleman  in  Para  say 
that  they  rarely  average  more  than  three  or  four  pounds. 

The  tree  is  tall,  straight,  and  has  a  smooth  bark.  It  sometimes  reaches 
a  diameter  of  eighteen  inches  or  more.  Each  incision  makes  a  rough 
wound  on  the  tree,  which,  although  it  does  not  kill  it,  renders  it  useless, 
because  a  smooth  place  is  required  to  which  to  attach  the  cups.  The 
milk  is  white  and  tasteless,  and  may  be  taken  into  the  stomach  with 
impunity. 

The  rubber  is  frefquently  much  adulterated  by  the  addition  of  tapioea 
or  sand,  to  increase  its  weight;  and,  unless  care  is  taken  in  the  manufac- 
ture, it  will  have  many  cells,  containing  air  and  water.  Water  is  seen 
to  exude  from  nearly  all  of  it  when  cut,  which  is  always  done  for  the 
purpose  of  examination  before  purchase.  I  brought  home  some  speci- 
mens that  were  more  than  half  mud. 


32S  BREVES. 

The  seriugeros  generally  work  on  their  own  account,  and  take  their 
collection  to  the  nearest  settlement,  or  to  some  such  shop  as  this,  to  ex- 
change it  for  such  things  as  they  stand  in  need  of. 

We  navigated  all  day,  after  leaving  this  place,  through  a  labyrinth  of 
island  channels,  generally  one  or  two  hundred  yards  wide,  and  forty- 
eight  feet  deep.  No  land  is  seen  in  threading  these  channels,  it  being 
all  covered  ;  and  the  trees  and  bushes"  seem  growing  out  of  the  water. 
Occasionally  the  bushes  are  cleared  away,  and  one  sees  a  shanty  mounted 
on  piles  in  the  water,  the  temporary  residence  of  a  seringero.  At  a 
place  in  one  of  these  channels,  I  was  surprised  to  find  one  hundred  and 
ninety-two  feet  of  water,  with  a  rocky  bottom.  The  lead  hung  in  the 
rocks,  so  that  we  had  difficulty  in  getting  it  again. 

April  4. — Jhe  channels  and  shores  are  as  before ;  though  we  occa- 
sionally see  a  patch  of  ground  with  a  house  on  it.  This  is  generally 
surrounded  with  cocoa-nut  trees  and  other  palms,  ^mcHig  which  the 
miriti  is  conspicuous  for  its  beauty.  This  is  a  very  tall,  straight,  um- 
brella-like tree,  that  bears  large  clusters  of  a  small  nut,  which  is  eaten. 

We  arrived  at  Breves,  on  the  island  of  Marajo,  at  11  a.  m.  This  set- 
tlement is  about  two  hundred  miles  below  Gurup^.  It  is  a  depot  of 
India-rubber,  and  sends  annually  about  three  thousand  arrobas  to  Para. 
It  has  a  church,  and  several  shops ;  and  seems  a  busy,  thriving  place. 
Below  this  we  find  the  flood-tide  sufficiently  strong  to  compel  us  to  lie 
by,  though  it  is  but  of  three  or  four  hours'  duration.  The  ebb  is  of 
longer  duration,  and  stronger. 

Nearly  opposite  Breves,  at  a  place  called  Portal,  a  village  of  sixty  or 
eighty  houses,  two  rivers,  called  the  Pucajash  and  Guanapu,  empty  into 
the  Amazon  close  together.  A  German,  whom  I  met  at  Para,  told  me 
of  these  rivers.  I  can  find  no  mention  of  them  in  Baena's  essay.  My 
German  friend  said  that  the  Pucajash  was  a  large  river  which  came 
down  from  the  province  of  Minas  Geraes,  and  that  he  had  found  gold 
in  its  sands.  According  to  his  account,  the  Pucajash  may  be  ascended 
for  eight  days  in  a  montaria  (quite  equal  to  twenty  days  in  a  river  craft) 
before  the  first  rapids  are  reached.  Tapuios  and  boats  may  be  had  at 
Portal.  Tlie  savages  who  inhabit  the  banks  of  the  Pucajash  are  nearly 
white ;  go  naked ;  but  are  civil,  and  may  be  employed  as  hunters. 

Wo  employed  the  5th,  6th,  and  1th.  of  April  in  running  through 
island  passages,  and  occasionsflly  touching  on  the  main  stream,  anchor- 
ing during  the  flood-tide. 

I  could  keep  no  account  of  the  tide  in  these  passages.  We  would 
encounter  two  or  three  different  tides  in  throe  or  four  hours.  I  imagine 
the  reason  of  this  was  that  some  of  the  passages  were  channels  proper 


BAY   OF    LIMOEIRO.  329 

of  the  Amazon ;  some  of  tliem  small,  independent  rivers ;  and  some, 
again,  fmos,  or  other  outlets  of  these  same  rivers.  On  the  morning  of 
the  7th,  we  were  running  down  on  the  main  river,  here  about  three 
miles  wide,  and  with  a  powerful  ebb-tide.  Suddenly  we  turned  to  the 
right,  or  southward,  into  a  creek  about  forty  yards  wide,  and  with 
twelve  feet  of  water,  and  found  a  small  tide  against  us.  After  pulling 
up  this  creek  an  hour,  we  found  a  powerful  tide  in  our  favor,  without 
haxang  observed  that  we  had  entered  another  stream ;  so  that  from  5 
a.  m.  to  3  p.  m.,  we  had  had  but  a  small  tide  of  one  hour  against  us. 

I  could  get  no  information  from  our  pilot.  He  seems  to  me  to  say 
directly  contrary  things  about  it.  The  old  man  is  very  timid,  and  will 
never  trust  himself  in  the  stormy  waters  of  the  main  river  if  he  can  find 
a  creek,  though  it  go  a  long  distance  about. 

The  channels  are  so  intricate  that  we  find,  at  the  bifurcations,  bits  of 
sail  cloth  hung  on  the  bushes,  to  guide  the  navigators  on  the  route  to 
Para.  Those  channels  which  lead,  to  Cameta,  on  the  Tocantins,  and 
other  places,  are  not  marked. 

We  passed  occasionally  farm  houses,  with  mills  for  grinding  sugar- 
cane. The  mills  are  as  rude  as  those  in  Mainas,  and  I  believe  make 
nothing  but  rum. 

At  8  p.  m.  on  the  Yth,  we  arrived  at  the  mouth  of  the  creek, 
which  debouches  upon  the  bay  of  Limoeiro,  a  deep  indentation  of  the 
right  bank  of  the  Amazon,  at  the  bottom  of  which  is  the  mouth  of  the 
river  Tocantins.  "We  had  a  stormy  night,  with  a  fresh  wind  from  the 
eastward,  and  much  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning. 

April  8. — The  pilot  objected  to  attempt  the  passage  of  fhe  bay ;  but 
another  pilot,  who  was  waiting  to  take  a  vessel  across  the  next  day, 
encouraged  him,  telling  him  that  he  would  havefeliz  viagem. 

We  pulled  a  mile  to  windward,  and  made  sail  across,  steering  E.  S. 
E.  The  wind  from  the  northward  and  eastward,  encountering  the  ebb- 
tide which  runs  from  the  southward,  soon  made  a  sharp  sea,  which  gave 
us  ^  rough  passage.  The  canoe  containing  our  animals  and  birds, 
which  was  towing  astern,  with  our  crippled  negro  from  Gurupa  steering, 
broke  adrift,  and  I  had  the  utmost  difficulty  in  getting  her  again;  indeed, 
we  took  in  so  much  water  in  our  efforts  to  reach  her  that  I  thought  for 
a  moment  that  I  should  have  to  make  sail  again,  and  abandon  the 
menagerie. "  The  canoe,  however,  would  probably  not  have  perished. 
She  was  so  light  that  she  took  in  little  water,  and  would  have  drifted 
with  the  ebb-tide  to  some  point  of  safety. 

We  had  a  quick  run  to  an  island  near  the  middle  of  the  bay,  and 
about  five  miles  from  the  shore  that  we  sailed  from.     The  bay  on  this 


330  CAME  T  A. 

♦ 

side  of  the  island  has  several  sand-flats,  that  are  barely  covered  at  low 

water.     They  seem  entirely  detached  from  the  land  and  have  deep  water 
close  around  them. 

Onr  pilot  must  have  steered  by  instinct,  or  the  direction  of  the  wind ; 
for  most  of  the  time  he  could  see  no  land,  so  thick  and  heavy  was  the 
rain.  He  grinned  with  delight  when  we  ran  under  the  lee  of  the 
island,  and  I  nodded  my  head  approvingly  to  him,  and  said,  bemfeito 
piloto,  (well  done  pilot.) 

We  breakfasted  on  the  island,  and  ran  with  the  flood-tide  to  its  south- 
ern extremity ;  where,  turning  to  the  north,  we  had  the  flood  against  us, 
and  were  compelled  to  stop. 

The  Bay  of  Limoeiro  is  about  ten  miles  wide ;  runs  north  and  south, 
and  has  the  Tocantins  pouring  in  at  its  southern  extremity.  Thirty-nine 
miles  from  the  mouth  of  that  river  is  situated  the  flourishing  town  of 
Cameta,  containing,  by  the  ofiicial  statement  for  1848,  thirteen  thousand 
seven  hundred  and  forty-two  free,  and  four  thousand  and  thirty-eight 
slave  inhabitants.  I  suppose  in  this  case,  as  in  others,  the  inhabitants 
of  the  country  houses  for  miles  around  are  included  in  the  estimate. 

Baena,  in  speaking  of  the  condition  of  this  town  in  1833,  says: 

"  The  city  and  its  '  termo'  (a  territorial  division  of  a  Comarca,  which 
is  again  a  territorial  di\'ision  of  a  province)  has  a  population  of  eight 
thousand  and  sixty-eight  whites,  and  one  thousand  three  hundred  and 
eighty-two  slaves.  The  major  part  are  to  be  found  in  the  town  on  holy- 
week,  or  any  of  the  great  festivals ;  but  for  the  most  time,  they  live  dis- 
persed among  the  adjacent  islands,  on  their  cocoa  plantations  and  farms. 

"  They  cultivate  mandioc,  cocoa,  cotton,  rice,  tobacco,  urucii,  and 
sugar-cane.  They  make  much  oil  from  the  andiroba  nut,  which  they 
collect  on  the  islands,  and  also  lime  from  fossil  shells. 

"The  women  paint  gourds  and  make  ewers  and  basins  of  white  clay, 
which  they  paint  very  beautifully.  They  also  make  figures  of  turtle 
doves  and  crocodiles  from  the  same  clay. 

"  The  inhabitants  enjoy  a  fine  climate,  charming  views,  the  cle^  and 
good  water  of  the  river,  abundance  of  fish,  and  every  kind  of  game, 
which  is  found  on  the  margin  of  the  river  and  on  the  islands — such  is 
the  fertility  which  nature  spontaneously  offers ;  and  much  more  would 
they  enjoy  had  they  a  better  system  of  cultivation  on  those  lands,  all 
admirably  fitted  for  every  kind  of  labor. 

"  There  are  those  who  say  that  the  water  of  the  Tocantins  has  a  cer- 
tain subtle,  petrifying  quality,  which  causes  attacks  of  gravel  to  those 
who  use  it." 

According  to  M.  Casteliulu,  who  descended  this  river  from  near  the 


THE    TOCANTINS.  331 

city  of  Goyaz,  by  one  of  its  tributaries,  called  the  Crixas,  the  Tocantins 
forks,  at  about  three  hundred  and  forty  miles  from  its  mouth,  into  two 
great  branches,  called  the  Tocantins  proper  and  the  Araguay,  which 
latter  branch  he  considers  the  principal  stream.  "  For,"  he  says,  "  when 
we  consider  that  the  Tocantins  presents  an  almost  continued  succession 
of  cascades  and  rapids,  whilst  the  Araguay  (as  we  have  before  said)  is 
free  for  the  greater  part  of  its  course,  it  will  be  seen  how  this  latter  ofters 
greater  advantages  for  navigation ;  particularly  when  it  is  recollected  that 
one  may  embark  upon  it  at  all  seasons  at  fifty  leagues  from  the  capital, 
(Goyaz,)  and  in  the  rainy  seasons  at  only  a  very  few  leagues  from  it. 
The  Tocantins,  on  the  other  hand,  cannot  be  considered  navigable  farther 
up  than  Porto  Imperial,  which  is  neariy  three  hundred  leagues  below 
Goyaz,  by  the  windings  of  the  route." 

Again,  he  says:  "The  rivers  of  which  we  have  been  treating, 
although  they  are  secondary  on  a  continent  watered  by  the  Amazon 
and  Mississippi,  would  elsewhere  be  considered  as  of  the  first  order ;  for 
the  "Eocantins  has  nearly  four  hundred  and  forty  leagues  of  course,  and 
the  Araguay,  properly  so  called,  has  not  less  than  four  hundred  and 
twenty.  But  this  last,  after  uniting  itself  to  the  Tocantins,  runs  in  the 
bed  of  the  latter  a  new,  distance  of  one  hundred  and  thirteen  leagues ; 
considering,  then,  the  Araguay,  on  account  of  its  being  the  larger 
branch,  and  the  most  direct  in  its  course,  as  the  main  river,  it  has  a 
total  length  of  nearly  five  hundred  and  thirty-three  leagues,"  (1,599 
miles.)  .  . 

It  is  necessary,  however,  in  ascending  these  rivers,  to  unload  the  boats 
at  many  places,  and  drag  them  over  the  rocks  with  cords.  The  voyage 
from  Porto  Imperial  to  Para  occupies  fiom  twenty-five  to  thirty  days ; 
but  upwards  ijt  takes  from  four  to  five  months. 

M.  Castelnau  descended  the  Araguay  from  Salinas  (fifty  leagues  by 
land  from  Goyaz)  to  its  junction  with  the  Tocantins  in  thirty-four  days. 
Just  below  Salinas  he  found  the  Araguay  upwards  of  five  hundred  yards 
wide.  At  the  junction  of  the  rivers,  the  Tocantins  has  a  width  of  two 
thousand  yards,  with  a  current  of  three-fourths  of  a  mile  per  hour. 
The  height  of  this  point  above  the  level  of  the  sea  is  one  hundred  and 
ninety-seven  feet,  and  its  distance  from  Para,  in  a  straight  line,  is  about 
one  hundred  and  sixty-one  miles;  thus  giving  the  river  in  this  distance 
a  fall  of  about  eight-tenths  of  a  foot  per  mile. 

We  crossed  the  other  arm  of  the  bay  (about  five  miles  wide)  with  the 
ebb-tide,  and  anchored  at  the  mouth  of  a  small  river  called  Anapui, 
which  empties  into  the  bay  near  its  opening  into  the  main  river  of  Para. 


332  IGARAPE    MIRIM. 

Thore  are  larjro  nuul  flats  noar  the  month  of  this  river,  wliioh  are  en- 
closed with  pinall  stakes  driven  in  the  mud  close  together,  for  the  purpose 
of  taking  fish  when  the  tide  is  out.  A  great  many  email  fish — about 
the  size  of  a  herring — called  mnjnra,  are  taken  and  salted  for  the  food 
of  the  slaves  and  tapui<:»s.  The  fishermen,  in  ludicrously  small  canoes, 
gathered  around  us,  admiring  our  birds  and  asking  many  strange  ques- 
tions. 

This  river  is  about  two  hundred  and  fifty  yards  wide,  and  has  a  general 
depth  of  thirty-six  feet.  Its  banks  are  lined  with  plantations  oi  cane, 
sugar-mills,  and  potteries.  Nearly  all  the  rum  and  the  pots  for  putting 
up  the  turtle-oil  that  are  used  on  the  river,  are  made  in  this  district. 
The  owners  of  these  establishments  are  nearly  all  away  at  this  time 
celebrating  holy-week  in  Sta.  Ana,  or  other  neighboring  \'illagea, 

Tlie  establishments  are  left  in  charge  of  domestics;  and  we  saw  no 
signs  of  activity  or  prosperity  among  thera.  Most  of  them  have  neat 
little  chapels  belonging  to  them. 

The  river  Sta.  Ana  empties  into  the  Anapui.  "We  anchored  at  its 
mouth  to  await  for  the  flix)d-tide.  Our  pilot,  who  always  sleeps  on  the 
arched  covering  over  the  stern  of  the  boat,  rolled  overboard  in  the 
night.  The  tide  was  fortunately  nearly  done,  and  the  old  man  swam 
well,  or  he  would  have  been  lost. 

The  village  of  Sta.  Ana  is  eight  miles  from  the  mouth  of  the  river, 
and  two  hundred  and  fifty  miles  below  Breves.  It  is  the  centre  of  the 
mm  and  molasses  trade  of  the  district*  It  is  a  small,  neat  looking 
village  of  about  five  hundred  inhabitants ;  but  the  country  aro\md  is 
very  thickly  settled ;  and  thus  the  otlicial  accoimt  states  the  population 
of  the  town  of  Igarapc  Mirini  (which  I  take  to  be  this  Sta.  Ana)  at 
three  thousand  one  hundred. free  persons,  with  two  hundred  and  eighty- 
one  slaves. 

The  river  opposite  the  town  is  one  hundred  yards  wide,  and  has  a 
depth  of  thirty  feet.  Just  al>ove  the  village  wo  entered  the  mouth  of 
a  cret'k  called  hjarnpc  Mirim,  This  creek  has  an  average  width  of 
thirty  yards,  and  depth,  at  this  season,  of  fifteen  feet. 

Six  miles  of  navigation  on  this  creek  brought  us  to  a  canal  which 
connects  the  Sta.  Anu  with  the  river  Moju. 

The  cAnal  is  about  a  mile  long,  and  has  six  feet  of  depth  at  this 
season.  It  seems,  at  present,  in  good  condition,  and  large  enough  to 
give  passage  to  a  vessel  of  fifty  tons. 

We  found  tlie  Mojii  a  fine  stream,  of  about  four  hundred  yards  in 
w  idtli,  and  forty-five  feet  deep  opposite  the  entrance  of  the  canal.    The 


ARRIVAL    AT    PARA.  333 

water  was  brown  and  clear,  and  the  banks  everywhere  three  or  four  feet* 
out  of  the  water.     I  was  surprised  to  see  so  few  houses  on  its  banks.     It 
looked  very  nearly  as  desolate  as  the  Maranon  in  Peru. 

Forty-five  miles  of  descent  of  the  Mojii  brought  us  to  the  junction  of 
the  Acara,  which  comes  in  from  the  southeast.     The  estuary  formed 
by  the  junction  of  the  two  rivers  is  about  two  and  a  half  miles  wide 
and  is  called  the  river  Guajar-a.  ' 

•  Five  miles  of  descent  of  the  Guajar^  brought  u^  to  its  entrance  into 
the  Para  river,  five  miles  above  the  city,  where  we  arrived  at  half-past 
9  p.  m.  on  the  11th  of  April. 

I  was  80  worn  out  when  we  arrived,  that,  although  I  had  not  heard 
from  home,  and  knew  that  there  must  be  letters  here  for  me,  I  would  not 
take  the  trouble  to  go  to  the  consul's  house  to  seek  them ;  but  sending 
Mr.  Potter  and  the  Frenchman  ashore  to  their  families,  I  anchored  in 
the  stream,  and,  wrapping  myself  in  my  blanket,  went  sullenly  to  sleep 
The  charm  of  Mr.  Norris's  breakfast  table  next  morning,  however 
with  ladies  and  children  seated  around  it,  conversing  in  English,  might 
have  waked  the  dead.  Under  the  care  and  kindness  of  himself  and  his 
family,  I  improved  every  hour;  and  was  soon  in  condition  to  see  what 
was  to  be  seen,  and  learn  what  was  to  be  learned,  of  the  city  of  Para. 


334  PARA 


CHAPTER  XVIll. 

Pari. 

The  city  of  Santa  Maria  de  Belem  do  Grao  Park,  founded  by  Fran- 
cisco Caldcira  do  Castello  Branca,  in  the  year  1616,  is  situated  on  a 
low  elbow  of  land  at  the  junction  of  the  river  GuamS,  with  the  river 
Para,  and  at  a  distance  of  about  eighty'  miles  from  the  sea. 

A  ship  generally  requires  three  tides,  which  run  with  a  velocity  of 
about  four  miles  to  the  hour,  to  reach  the  sea  from  the  city. 

Para  is  not  fortified,  either  by  land  or  water.  There  is  a  very  small 
and  inefficient  fort  situated  on  an  island  about  five  miles  below  the  city ; 
but  it  is  only  armed  with  a  few  ill-conditioned  field-pieces,  which  do  not 
command  the  channel.  There  is  also  a  small  battery  in  the  city  near 
the  point  of  junction  of  the  two  rivers ;  but  there  are  no  guns  mounted, 
and  its  garrison  could  be  easily  driven  out  by  musketry  from  the  towers 
of  the  cathedral. 

The  harbor  is  a  very  fine  one ;  it  is  made  by  the  long  island  of  On^as 
in  front,  and  at  two  miles  distant,  with  some  smaller  ones  further  down 
the  river.  There  is  an  abundance  of  water,  and  ships  of  any  size  may 
lie  within  one  hundred  and  fifty  yards  of  the  shore.  There  is  a  good 
landing-place  for  boats  and  lighters  at  the  custom-house  whai-f ;  and  at 
half  tide  at  the  stone  wharf,  some  five  hundred  yards  above. 

The  corporation  was  engaged,  during  my  stay,  in  building  a  strong 
stone  sea-wall  all  along  in  front  of  the  town.  This  will  make  a  new 
wide  street  on  the  water-front,  and  prevent  smuggling.  Formerly, 
canoes,  at  high  stages  of  the  river,  would  land  cargoes  surreptitiously  in 
the  very  cellars  of  the  warehouses  situated  on  the  river. 

The  city  is  divided  into  the  freguezias,  or  parishes,  of  Se  and  Cam- 
pina.  Nine  other  freguezias  are  included  in  the  municipio  of  the  capi- 
tal ;  but  many  of  these  are  leagues  distant,  and  should  not  geograph- 
ically be  considered  as  belonging  to  the  city,  or  their  population  be 
numbered  in  connexion  with  it. 

The  population  of  the  city  proper  numbered,  in  1848,  (the  last  statis-' 
tical  account  I  have,  and  which  I  think  would  differ  very  little  from  a 
census  taken  at  this  time,)  nine  thousand  two  hundred  and  eighty-four 
free  persons,  and  four  thousand  seven  hundred  and  twenty-six  slaves. 


VEGETABLE    PRODUCTIONS.  335 

The  number  of  inhabited  houses  was  two  thousand  four  hundred  and 
eighteen ;  of  births,  seven  hundred  and  eighty-five;  of  marriages,  ninety- 
eight  ;  of  deaths,  three  hundred  and  seventy-five  ;  and  of  resident  for- 
eigners, seven  hundred  and  eighty-four. 

Para  was  a  remarkably  healthy  place,  and  entirely  free  from  epidemics 
of  any  kind,  until  February,  1850,  when  the  yellow  fever  was  taken 
there  by  a  vessel  from  Pemambuco.  It  was  originally  brought  from 
the  coast  of  Africa  to  Bahia,  and  spread  thence  along  the  coast.  The 
greatest  malignancy  of  the  disease  was  during  the  month  of  April,  when 
it  carried  off  from  twenty  to  twenty- five  a  day. 

About  the  same  time  the  next  year,  (the  fever  being  much  diminished,) 
the  small  pox  broke  out  with  great  violence.  About  twenty-five  per 
cent,  of  the  population  died  from  the  two  diseases.  I  imagine  that  the 
city  will  now  never  be  entirely  free  from  either ;  and  the  filthy  condition 
in  which  the  low  tide  leaves  the  slips,  in  which  lie  the  small  trading 
craft,  must  be  a  fruitful  source  of  malaria,  and  an  ever-exciting  cause  of 
epidemic. 

The  crews  of  these  vessels,  with  their  families,  generally  live  in  them. 
They  are  consequently  crowded ;  and,  when  the  tide  is  out,  they  lie  on 
their  sides,  imbedded  in  a  mass  of  refuse  animal  and  vegetable  matter, 
rotting  and  festering  under  a  burning  sun. 

Para,  however,  is  an  agreeable  place  of  residence,  and  has  a  delight- 
ful climate.  The  sun  is  hot  till  about  noon,  when  the  sea  breeze  comes 
in,  bringing  clouds  with  rain,  thunder,  and  lightning,  which  cool  and 
purify  the  atmosphere,  and  wash  the  streets  of  the  city.  The  afternoon 
and  evening  are  then  delicious.  This  was  invariable  during  my  stay  of 
a  month. 

The  rich  vegetable  productions  of  the  country  enhance  much  the 
beauty  of  the  city.  In  nearly  all  the  gardens  grow  the  beautiful  miriti 
palm,  the  cabbage  palm,  the  cocoa  nut,  the  cinnamon,  the  bread-fruit 
tree,  and  rich  green  vines  of  black  pepper.  The  rapidity  of  vegetable 
growth  here  is  wonderful.  Streets  opened  six  months  ago  in  the  suburbs 
of  the  city,  are  now  filled  up  with  bushes  of  the  stramonium,  or  James- 
town weed,  of  full  six  feet  in  height.  There  are  a  number  of  almond 
trees  in  various  parts  of  the  town,  which  are  very  ornamental.  These 
trees  throw  out  horizontal  branches,  encircling  the  trunk  at  intervals  of 
five  or  six  feet,  the  lowest  circle  being  the  largest,  so  that  they  resemble 
in  shape  a  Norfolk  pine.  Mr.  Norris  and  I  thought  it  remarkable  that, 
in  a  row  of  these  trees  planted  before  a  house  or  line  of  houses,  those 
nearest  the  door  were  invariably  the  farthest  advanced  in  growth.  This 
we  particularly  remarked  in  the  case  of  a  row  planted  before  the  bar- 


33G  SOCIETY. 

racks,  in  two  parts  of  the  city.  The  tree  under  which  the  sentinel  stood, 
in  both  cases,  was  the  largest  of  the  row. 

"We  saw,  in  a  walk  in  the  suburbs  of  the  town,  what  we  thought  to 
be  a  palm  tree  growing  out  of  the  crotch  of  a  tree  of  a  different  species; 
but,  upon  examination,  it  appeared  that  the  tree,  out  of  which  the  palm 
seemed  growing,  was  a  creeper,  which,  embracing .  the  palm  near  the 
ground,  covered  its  trunk  entirely  for  fifteen  or  twenty  feet,  and  then 
threw  oft'  large  branches  on  each  side.  It  may  seem  strange  to  call  that 
a  creeper,  which  had  branches  of  at  least  ten  inches  in  diameter  ;  but 
so  it  was.  It  is  called  in  Cuba  the  parricide  tree,  because  it  invariably 
kills  the  tree  that  supports  it.    {Har.  Mag.  January,  1853.) 

The  most  picturesque  object,  however,  in  Para  was  the  ruins  of  an 
old  opera  house  near  the  palace.  The  luxuriant  vegetation  of  the  coun- 
try has  seized  upon  it,  and  it  presents  pillar,  arch,  and  cornice  of  the  most 
\'ivid  and  beautiful  green. 

The  society  of  Para  is  also  agreeable.  The  men,  I  am  sorry  to  say, 
seem  to  be  above  work.  Most  of  them  are  Hidalgos,  or  gentlemen ; 
and  nearly  all  are  in  the  employ  of  the  government,  with  exceedingly 
small  salaries.  In  the  whole  city  of  Para,  I  am  told,  there  are  not  a 
dozen  Brazilians  engaged  in  trade  of  any  kind.  The  women  are  simple, 
fi'ank,  and  engaging  in  their  manners,  and  very  fond  of  evening  parties 
and  dancing.  I  attended  a  ball,  which  is  given  monthly  by  a  society 
of  gentlemen,  and  was  much  pleased  at  the  good  taste  exhibited  in  its 
management.  Full  dress  was  forbidden.  No  one  was  permitted  to 
appear  in  diamonds ;  and  the  consequence  was,  that  all  the  pretty  girls 
of  the  merely  respectable  classes,  as  well  as  of  the  rich,  were  gathered 
together,  and  had  a  merry  time  of  it. 

But  the  principal  charm  of  Pard,  as  of  all  other  tropical  places,  is  the 
Dolce  far  niente.  Men,  in  these  countries,  are  not  ambitious.  They  are 
not  annoyed,  as  the  more  masculine  people  of  colder  chmates  are,  to  see 
their  neighbors  going  ahead  of  them.  They  are  contented  to  live,  and 
to  enjoy,  without  labor,  the  fruits  which  the  earth  spontaneously  offers ; 
and,  I  imagine,  in  the  majority  of  cases,  if  a  Brazilian  has  enough  food, 
of  even  the  commonest  quality,  to  support  life,  coffee  or  tea  to  drink, 
cigars  to  smoke,  and  a  hammock  to  lie  in,  that  he  w'ill  be  perfectly 
contented. 

This,  of  course,  is  the  effect  of  climate.  There  was  a  time  when  the 
Portuguese  nation,  in  maritime  and  scientific  discoveries — in  daring 
explorations — in  successful  colonization — in  arts  and  arms — was  inferior 
to  no  other  in  proportion  to  its  strength  ;  and  I  have  very  little  doubt 
but  that  the  bold  and  ambitious  Englishman,  the  spirited  and  cos- 


SLAVES.  337 

mopoHtan  Frenchman,  and  the  hardy,  persevering,  scheming  American, 
"who  likes  little  that  any  one  should  go  ahead  of  him,  would  ahke,  in 
the  course  of  time,  yield  to  the  relaxing  influence  of  a  climate  that  for- 
bids him  to  labor,  and  to  the  charm  of  a  state  of  things  where  life  may 
be  supported  without  the  necessity  of  labor. 

To  make,  then,  the  rich  and  varied  productions  of  this  country  avail- 
able for  commercial  purposes,  and  to  satisfy  the  artificial  wants  of  man, 
it  is  necessary  that  labor  should  be  compulsory.  To  Brazil  and  her 
political  economists  belongs  the  task  of  investigation,  and  of  deciding 
how,  and  by  what  method,  this  shall  be  brought  about. 

The  common  sentiment  of  the  civilized  world  is  against  the  renewal 
of  the  African  slave  trade ;  therefore  must  Brazil  turn  elsewhere  for  the 
compulsory  labor  necessary  to  cultivate  her  lands.  Her  Indians  will 
not  work.  Like  the  llama  of  Peru,  they  will  die  sooner  than  do  more 
than  is  necetsary  for  the  support  of  their  being.  I  am  under  the  im- 
pression that,  were  Brazil  to  throw  off  a  causeless  jealousy,  and  a  puerile 
fear  of  our  people,  and  invite  settlers  to  the  Valley  of  the  Amazon, 
there  might  be  found,  among  our  Southern  planters,  men,  who,  looking 
with  apprehension  (if  not  for  themselves,  at  least  for  their  children)  to 
the  state  of  affairs  as  regards  slavery,  at  home,  would,  under  suflScient 
guarantees,  remove  their  slaves  to  that  country,  cultivate  its  lands,  draw 
out  its  resources,  and  prodigiously  augment  the  power  and  wealth  of 
Brazil. 

The  negro  slave  seems  very  happy  in  Brazil.  This  is  remarked  by 
all  foreigners ;  and  many  times  in  Pard  was  a  group  of  merry,  chatter- 
ing, happy-looking  black  women,  bringing  their  baskets  of  washed 
clothes  from  the  spring,  pointed  out  to  me,  that  I  might  notice  the  evils 
of  slavery.  The  owners  of  male  slaves  in  Para  generally  require  from 
each  four  or  five  testoons  a  day,  (twenty  testoons  make  a  dollar,)  and 
leave  him  free  to  get  it  as  he  can.  The  slaves  organize  themselves  into 
bands  or  companies,  elect  their  captain,  who  directs  and  superintends 
their  work,  and  contract  with  a  certain  number  of  mercantile  houses  to 
do  their  porterage.  The  gang  which  does  the  porterage  for  Mr.  Norris, 
and  for  nearly  all  the  English  and  American  houses,  numbers  forty. 
Each  man  is  paid  about  three  cents  to  fill  a  bag  or  box,  and  four  cents 
to  carry  it  to  the  wharf  and  put  it  aboard  the  lighter.  It  costs  from 
one  hundred  and  fifty  to  two  hundi'ed  dollars  to  discharge  and  load  a 
moderate  sized  ship. 

I  have  frequently  seen  these  gangs  of  negroes  carrying  cocoa  to  the 
wharf.     They  were  always  chattering  and  singing  merrily,  and  would 
stop  every  few  minutes  to  execute  a  kind  of  dance  with  the  bags  on 
22 


338  THE    CHURCH. 

their  heads,  thus  doubling  their  work.  When  the  load  was  deposited, 
the  captain,  who  does  no  work  himself  unless  his  gang  is  pressed,  arrays 
them  in  military  fashion,  and  marches  them  back  for  another  load. 

For  carrying  barrels,  or  other  bulky  and  heavy  articles  of  merchan- 
dise, there  are  trucks,  drawn  by  oxen. 

Churches  are  large  and  abundant  in  ParA.  The  cathedral  is  one  of  the 
finest  churches  in  Brazil.  Its  personnel^  consisting  of  dignitaries,  {digni- 
dades,)  canons,  chorists,  and  other  employes,  numbers  seventy-four. 

A  large  convent  of  the  Jesuits,  near  the  cathedral,  having  a  very 
ornate  and  pretty  chapel  attached,  is  now  used  as  a  bishop's  palace,  and 
a  theological  seminary.  The  oflScers  of  the  seminary  are  a  rector,  a 
\'ice-rector,  and  six  professors ;  its  students  number  one  hundred  and 
fifteen  ;  its  rental  is  about  five  thousand  dollars,  of  which  one  thousand 
is  given  from  the  provincial  treasury ;  and  it  teaches  Latin,  the  lan- 
guages, philosophy,  theology,  history,  geography,  and  vocal  and  instru- 
mental music. 

There  are  but  two  convents  in  Pard — one  of  the  order  of  St.  Anthony, 
and  one  of  Shod  Carmelites. 

I  attended  the  celebration  of  the  festival  of  the  Holy  Cross,  in  the 
chapel  of  the  convent  of  the  Carmelites.  There  was  a  very  large,  well- 
dressed  congregation,  and  the  church  was  redolent  of  the  fragrance  of 
sweet-scented  herbs,  strewn  upon  the  floor.  There  were  no  good 
pictures  in  the  church,  but  the  candlesticks  and  other  ornaments  of  the 
altar  were  very  massive  and  rich.  In  the  insurrection  of  the  Cabanos 
the  church  property  was  spared  ;  but  I  am  told  that,  though  they  have 
preserved  their  ornaments,  the  priests  have  managed  their  property 
injudiciously,  and  are  not  now  so  rich  in  slaves  and  real  estate  aa 
formerly. 

I  imagine  that  the  priesthood  in  Brazil,  though  quite  as  intelligent 
and  able  as  their  brethren  of  Peru,  have  not  so  great  an  influence  in 
society  here  as  there.  This  is  seen  in  an  anecdote  told  me  of  a  rigid 
Cke/e  de  Folicia,  who  forbid  the  clergy  from  burying  one  of  their  digni- 
taries in  the  body  of  the  church  during  the  prevalence  of  the  yellow 
fever;  but  compelled  them,  much  against  their  will, to  deposit  the  body 
in  the  public  cemetery,  and  accompanied  the  funeral  procession  on 
horseback  to  see  that  his  orders  were  obeyed.  It  is  also  seen  in  the  fact 
that  the  provincial  assembly  holds  its  sessions  in  a  wing  of  the  Carmelite 
convent,  and  that  a  part  of  the  church  of  the  Merced  is  turned  into  a 
custom-house  and  a  barracks. 

There  are  forty-one  public  primary  schools  in  the  province,  educating 
one  thousand  and  eighty-seven  pupils.    This  gives  a  proportion  of  one 


EDUCATION.  339 

for  every  one  hundred  and  six  free  persons  in  the  province.     Each  pupil 
costs  the  State  about  seven  and  a  half  dollars. 

In  the  four  schools  of  Latin,  one  person  is  educated  in  every  five 
hundred  and  sixty-four,  at  a  cost  of  twenty-six  dollars. 

In  the  College  of  Para,  called  '■^Lyceo  da  Capital^''  the  proportion 
educated  is  one  to  two  hundred  and  eleven,  at  a  cost  of  sixty-two  dollars. 

There  are  two  capital  institutions  of  instruction  in  Para — one  for  the 
education  of  poor  boys  as  mechanics,  who  are  compelled  to  pay  for  their 
education  in  labor  for  the  State ;  and  the  other  for  the  instruction  in 
the  practical  business  in  life  of  orphan  and  destitute  girls.  I  think 
that  this  education  is  compulsory,  and  that  the  State  seizes  upon  vaga- 
bond boys  and  destitute  girls  for  these  institutions.  There  is  also  another 
school  of  educandos  for  the  army. 

The  province  also  maintains  three  young  men  for  the  purpose  of  com- 
plete education  in  some  of  the  colleges  of  Europe. 

There  are  several  hospitals  and  charitable  institutions  in  the  city, 
among  which  is  a  very  singular  one.  This  is  a  place  for  the  reception 
of  foundlings  maintained  by  the  city.  A  cylinder,  with  a  receptacle  in 
it  sufficiently  large  for  the  reception  of  a  baby,  turns  upon  an  axis  in  a 
window ;  any  one  may  come  under  cover  of  night,  deposit  a  child  in 
the  cylinder,  turn  the  mouth  of  the  receptacle  in,  and  walk  away  with- 
out being  seen.     Nurses  are  provided  to  take  charge  of  the  foundling. 

Though  I  pumped  all  my  acquaintances,  I  could  get  no  statistics  con- 
cerning this  institution,  or  whether  it  was  thought  to  be  beneficial  or 
not.  I  judge,  however,  that  for  this  country  it  is.  Public  opinion  here 
does  not  condemn,  or  at  least  treats  very  leniently,  the  sins  of  fornica- 
tion and  adultery.  This  institution,  therefore,  while  it  would  tend  to 
lessen  the  crime  of  infanticide,  would  not  encourage  the  above  men- 
tioned sins  by  concealment ;  for  where  there  is  no  shame  there  is  no 
necessity  for  concealment.  In  speaking  thus,  I  do  not  at  all  allude  to 
the  higher  classes  of  Brazil. 

The  executive  and  legislative  government  of  the  province  is  in  a 
president  and  four  vice  presidents,  appointed  by  the  Crown,  and  in  a 
legislative  assembly. 

The  provincial  assembly  meets  once  a  year,  in  the  month  of  May. 
The  length  of  its  sessions  is  determined  by  itself.  It  elects  its  own  pre- 
siding officer.  It  is  a  very  inefficient  representative  system.  The  people 
in  the  districts  elect  electors,  who  choose  delegates  and  suplentes,  or 
proxies.  Most  of  these  proxies  belong  to  the  city;  they  have  little 
knowledge  of  the  wants,  and  no  sympathy  with  the  feelings,  of  the 
people  they  represent.     Each  delegate  (at  least  this  is  the  case  in  the 


340  THE     JUDICIARY. 

province  of  Amazonas)  is  allowed  one  dollar  and  sixty-six  cents  per 
diem ;  and  the  salary  of  the  President  of  that  province  is  onfe  thousand 
six  hundred  and  sixty-six  dollars  and  sixty  six  cents ;  it  is  probable  that 
the  salary  of  the  President  of  Para  is  greater.  ' 

The  police  of  the  province  is  under  the  direction  of  a  chefe  de  poltcia, 
with  delegados  for  each  comarca,  and  sub-delegados  for  the  termos  and 
municipios.  These  officers  issue  and  visee  passports,  and  the  traveller 
should  always  call  upon  them  first. 

The  judiciary  consists  of  Juizes  de  direito ;  three  for  the  comarca  of 
the  capital,  and  one  for  each  of  the  other  comarcas  of  the  province, 
besides  Juizes  municipaes,  and  de  or/ads.  The  Juiz  de  direito  holds  a 
singular  office,  and  exercises  extraordinary  powers;  besides  being  the 
judge,  he  presides  over  the  jury,  and  has  a  vote  in  it.  An  appeal  lies 
from  his  court,  both  by  himself  and  the  defendant,  to  a  higher  court, 
called  the  Court  of  Melacdo,  which  sits  in  Maranham  and  has  jurisdic- 
tion over  the  two  provinces  of  Maranham  and  Para.  There  are  three 
or  four  such  courts  in  the  empire,  and  an  appeal  lies  from  them  to  the 
Supreme  Court  at  Rio  Janeiro. 

Persons  complain  bitterly  of  the  delay  and  vexations  in  the  adminis- 
tration of  justice.  I  have  heard  of  cases  of  criminals  confined  in  jail 
for  years,  both  in  Peru  and  Brazil,  waiting  for  trial.  It  is  said  also, 
though  I  know  nothing  of  this,  that  the  judges  are  very  open  to  bribery. 
I  think,  however,  that  this  is  likely  to  be  the  case,  from  the  entire  in- 
adequacy of  the  salaries  generally  paid  by  the  government. 

I  believe  that  the  Brazilian  code  is  mild  and  humane,  and  I  am  sure 
that  it  is  humanely  administered.  The  Brazilians  have  what  I  conceive 
to  be  a  very  proper  horror  of  taking  life  judicially.  They  do  not  shrink 
in  battle ;  and  sudden  anger  and  jealousy  will  readily  induce  them  to 
kill ;  but  I  imagine  the  instances  of  capital  punishment  are  very  rare  in 
Brazil. 

The  police  of  the  city  is  excellent,  but,  except  to  take  up  a  drunken 
foreign  sailor  occasionally,  it  has  nothing  to  do.  Crime — such  as  vio- 
lence, wrong,  stealing,  drunkenness,  &c. — is  very  rare  in  Para.  Proba- 
bly the  people  are  too  lazy  to  be  bad. 

The  ])rovince  covers  an  area  of  about  360,000  square  miles,  and  has 
a  population  of  129,828  free  persons,  with  33^552  slaves. 

Much  as  it  needs  population,  it  has  suffered,  from  time  to  time,  con- 
siderable drainage.  It  is  calculated  that  from  ten  to  twelve  thousand 
persons  were  killed  by  the  insurrection  of  the  Cabanos,  in  1835.  Since 
that  time  ten  thoa-'and  have  been  drawn  from  it  as  soldiers  for  the 


THE  WAR  OF  THE  CABANOS.  341 

southern  wars;  and  the  yellow-fevet^-and  small-pox,  in  one  year,  carried 
off  between  four  and  five  thousand  more. 

The  war  of  the  Cabanos  was  a  servile  insurrection,  instigated  and 
headed  by  a  few  turbulent  and  ambitious  men.  The  ostensible  cause 
was  dissatisfaction  with  the  provincial  government.  The  real  cause 
seems  to  have  been  hatred  of  the  Portuguese. 

Charles  Jenks  Smith,  then  consul  at  Para,  writes  to  the  Hon.  John 
Forsyth,  under  date  of  January  20,  1835  : 

"  After  the  happy  conclusion  of  the  war  on  the  Acara,  this  city  has 
remained  in  a  state  of  perfect  tranquility,  until  the  morning  of  the  Yth 
instant,  when  a  popular  revolution  broke  out  among  the  troops,  which 
has  resulted  in  an  entire  change  of  the  government  of  this  province. 

The  President  and  the  GeJieral-das- Armas  were  both  assassinated  at 
the  palace,  by  the  soldiers  there  stationed,  between  the  hours  of  4  and 
5  a.  ra.  Inglis,  Commandant  of  the  Dcfensora  corvette,  and  Captain 
of  the  port,  was  also  killed  in  passing  from  his  dwelling  to  his  ship. 
The  subaltern  commissioned  officers  on  duty  were  shot  down  by  the 
soldiery,  who,  placing  themselves  under  the  command  of  a  sergeant 
named  Gomez,  took  possession  of  all  the  military  posts  in  the  city. 

"  About  fifty  prisoners  were  then  set  at  liberty,  who,  in  a  body,  pro- 
ceeded to  a  part  of  the  city  called  Porto  de  Sol,  and  commenced  an 
indiscriminate  massacre  of  all  the  Portuguese  they  could  find  in  that 
neighborhood.  In  this  manner  about  twenty  respectable  shop-keepers 
and  others  lost  their  lives. 

"  Guards  were  stationed  along  the  whole  line  of  the  shore,  to  prevent 
any  person  from  embarking ;  and  several  Portuguese  were  shot  in  making 
the  attempt  to  escape." 

A  new  President  and  General-das- Armas  were  proclaimed ;  but  they 
quarrelled  very  soon.  The  President,  named  Melchor,  was  taken  pris- 
oner and  murdered  by  his  guards  ;  and  Vinar/re,  the  General-das- Armas 
took  upon  himself  the  government.  In  the  conflicts  incident  to  this 
change  about  two  hundred  persons  were  killed.  The  persons  and  prop- 
erty of  all  foreigners,  except  Portuguese,  were  respected.  Many  of 
these  were  insulted,  and  some  killed. 

Vinagre  held  the  city,  in  spite  of  several  attempts  of  Brazilian  men- 
of-war  to  drive  him  out,  until  the  21st  June,  when,  upon  the  arrival  of 
a  newly-appointed  President,  he  evacuated  it.  During  these  attempts 
the  British  corvettes  Racehorse  and  Despatch^  a  Portuguese  corvette, 
and  two  French  brigs  of-war,  offered  their  services  for  protection  to  the 
American  consul. 

On  the  4th  of  August,  Vinagre  again  broke  into  the  city.     The 


342  THE  WAR  OF  THE  CABANOS. 

English  and  Portuguese  vessels  landed  their  marines;  but,  disgusted 
•with  the  conduct  of  the  President,  withdrew  them  almost  immediately. 

The  fire  of  the  Racehorse,  however,  defeated  Vinagre's  attempt  to  get 
hold  of  the  artillery  belonging  to  the  city. 

On  the  23d  of  August,  the  President  abandoned  the  city  to  the  rebels 
•whose  leader  exerted  himself  to  save  foreign  life  and  property,  permit- 
ting the  foreigners  to  land  from  their  vessels,  and  take  from  the  custom- 
house and  their  own  stores  the  principal  part  of  their  etTects. 

The  rebels  held  the  city  until  the  13th  of  May,  1830,  when  they 
•were  finally  driven  out  by  the  legal  authorities,  backed  by  a  large  force 
from  Rio  Janeiro.  They  held,  however,  most  of  the  towns  on  the  river 
above  Parii  till  late  in  the  year  1837.  They  did  immense  mischief, 
putting  many  whites  to  death  with  unheard-of  barbarity,  and  destroying 
their  crops  and  cattle.  The  province  was  thus  put  back  many  years. 
I  think  that  the  causes  which  gave  rise  to  that  insurrection  still  exist; 
and  I  believe  that  a  designing  and  able  man  could  readily  induce  the 
tapuios  to  rise  upon  their  patrons.  The  far-seeing  and  patriotic  Presi- 
dent Coelho  always  saw  the  danger,  and  labored  earnestly  for  the  pas- 
sage of  efficient  laws  for  the  government  of  the  body  of  tapuios,  and 
for  the  proper  organization  of  the  military  forc^  of  the  province,  llis 
efforts  in  the  latter  case  have  been  successful,  and,  very  lately,  a  good 
militia  system  has  been  established. 

The  city  of  Pard  is  supplied  with  its  beef  from  the  great  island  of 
Marajo,  which  is  situated  immediately  in  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon. 
This  island  has  a  superficial  extent  of  about  ten  thousand  square  miles^ 
and  is  a  great  grazing  country.  Cattle  were  first  introduced  into  it  from 
the  Cape  de  Verde  Islands,  in  1644.  They  increased  with  great  rapid- 
ity, and  government  soon  drew  a  considerable  revenue  from  its  tax  on 
cattle. 

Before  the  year  1824,  a  good  horse  might  have  been  bought  in  Ma- 
rajo for  a  dollar;  but  about  that  time  a  great  and  infectious  disease 
broke  out  among  the  horses,  and  swept  away  vast  numbers ;  so  that 
Marajo  is  now  dependent  upon  Coara  and  the  provinces  to  the  south- 
ward for  its  supply  of  horses.  I  heard  that  the  appearance  of  this 
disease  was  caused  by  the  fact  that  an  individual  having  bought  the 
right  from  the  government  to  kill  ten  thousand  mares  on  the  island, 
actually  killed  a  great  many  more ;  and  the  carcasses,  being  left  to  rot 
upon  the  plains,  poisoned  the  grass  and  bred  the  pestilence  which  swept 
off  nearly  all. 

Other  accounts  state  that  the  disease  came  from  about  Santarem  and 
Lago  Grande,  where  it  first  attacked  the  dogs ;  then  the  capiuaras,  or 


ISLAND   OF    MARAJO.  343 

river-hogs ;  then  the  alligators ;  and,  finally,  the  horses.  It  attacks  the 
back  and  loins ;  so  that  the  animal  loses  the  use  of  his  hind-legs. 
Government  sent  a  young  man  to  France  to  study  farriery,  in  hopes  to 
arrest  the  disease ;  but  the  measure  was  productive  of  no  good  results. 
The  disease  still  continues ;  and,  ten  years  ago,  appeared  for  the  first 
time  in  the  island  of  Mexiana,  not  far  from  Marajo.  Within  the  last 
year,  nearly  all  the  horses  on  this  island  have  died.  I  believe  it  has 
never  attacked  the  horned  cattle. 

Beeves  are  brought  from  Marajo  to  Park  in  small  vessels,  fitted  for 
the  purpose.  They  are  frequently  a  week  on  the  passage ;  and  all  this 
time  they  are  on  very  short  allowance  of  food  and  water ;  so  that,  when 
they  arrive,  they  may  almost  be  seen  through. 

The  butchering  and  selling  are  all  done  under  municipal  direction ; 
and  the  price  of  beef  is  regulated  by  law.  This  is  about  five  and  a  half 
cents  the  pound.  Gentlemen  maintain  horses  and  milch  cows  in  Para, 
or  its  neighborhood.  These  are  fed  generally  on  American  hay.  Some 
small  quantity  of  grass  is  to  be  had  from  the  rofinhas,  or  small  farms, 
in  the  environs  of  the  city;  and  a  tolerably  good  food  for  cattle  is  had 
from  a  fine  flour,  found  between  the  chaff  and  grain  of  rice.  This  is 
called  muinha,  [quim,  in  Marankam,)  and  is  very  extensively  used, 
mixed  with  the  chafi". 

The  island  of  Maraj6  is  very  much  cut  up  with  creeks,  which,  in  the 
rainy  season,  overflow  the  low  land,  and  form  marshes,  which  are  the 
graves  of  a  great  number  of  cattle.  The  cattle,  at  this  season,  are  also 
crowded  together  on  the  knolls  of  land  that  are  above  the  waters  in  the 
inundation,  and  many  of  them  fall  a  prey  to  the  ounces,  which  abound 
on  the  island.  These  creeks  are  also  filled  with  alligators.  Mr,  Smith, 
former  consul  at  Park,  told  me  that  he  had  seen  the  carcass  of  one  there 
•which  was  thirty  feet  long. 

I  saw  a  number  of  curious  and  beautiful  animals  in  Para.  Mr. 
Norris  had  some  electric  eels,  and  a  pair  of  large  and  beautiful 
anacondas.  I  had  never  heard  a  serpent  hiss  before  I  heard  these,  and 
the  sound  filled  me  with  disgust  and  dread.  The  noise  was  very  like 
the  letting  off  of  steam  at  a  distance.  The  extreme  quickness  and 
violence  with  which  they  darted  from  their  coil  (lacerating  their  mouths 
against  the  wire-work  of  the  cage)  was  sufficiently  trying  to  a  nervous 
man;  and  few  could  help  starting  back  when  it  occurred.  These 
animals  measured  about  eighteen  feet  in  length,  and  the  skin,  which 
they  shed  nearly  every  month,  measured  eighteen  inches  in  circum- 
ference. They  seldom  ate ;  a  chicken  or  a  rat  was  given  to  them  when 
it  was  convenient.     They  killed  their  food  by  crushing  it  between  their 


3-44  BLACK    TIGERS. 

head  and  a  fold  of  their  body,  and  swallowed  it  with  deliberation.     I 
imagine  that  they  would  live  entirely  without  food  for  six  montbs. 

Many  gt'ntloinon  had  tigers  about  tlu-ir  establishments,  'i'hev  were 
docile,  and  playful  in  their  intercourse  with  acquaintances;  but  they 
were  generally  kept  chained  for  fear  of  injury  to  strangers.  Their  play, 
too,  was  not  very  gentle,  for  their  claws  could  scarcely  touch  without 
leaving  a  mark. 

Mr.  Pond,  an  American,  had  a  pair  of  black  tigers,  that  were  the 
most  beautiful  animals  I  have  ever  seen.  The  ground  color  of  the  b<xly 
was  a  very  dark  maroon ;  but  it  was  so  thickly  covered  with  black 
spots  that,  to  a  casual  glance,  the  animal  appeared  coal  black.  The 
brilliancy  of  the  color — the  savage  glare  of  the  eye — the  formidable 
appearance  of  their  tusks  and  claws — and  their  evidently  enormous 
strength — gave  tliem  a  very  imposing  appearance.  They  were  not  so 
large  as  the  Bengal  tiger ;  but  much  larger  than  the  common  ounce. 
They  were  bred  in  Para  from  cubs. 

Electric  eels  are  found  in  great  numbers  in  the  creeks  and  ditches 
about  Para.  The  largest  I  have  seen  was  about  four  inches  in  diameter, 
and  five  feet  in  length.  Their  shock,  to  me,  was  unpleasant,  but  not 
painful.  Some  persons,  however,  are  much  more  susceptible  than  others. 
Captain  Lee,  of  the  Dolphin,  could  not  feel  at  all  the  shock  of  an  eel, 
■which  aft'ected  a  lady  so  strongly  as  to  cause  her  to  reel,  and  nearly  fall. 
Animals  seem  more  powerfully  affected  than  men.  Mr.  Norris  told  me 
tliat  he  had  seen  a  horse  drinking  out  of  a  tub,  in  which  was  one  of 
these  eels,  jerked  entirely  off  his  feet.  It  may  be  that  the  electric  shock 
was  communicated  directly  to  the  stomach  by  means  of  the  water  he 
was  swallowing;  but  llumbuldt  gives  a  very  interesting  account  of  tlie 
manner  of  taking  these  eels  by  means  of  horses,  which  shows  that  they 
l#e  f)eculiarly  susceptible  to  the  shock.     He  says  : 

"Impatient  of  waiting,  and  having  obtained  very  uncertain  results 
from  an  electrical  eel  that  had  been  brought  to  us  alive,  but  much  en- 
feebled, we  repaired  to  the  ca)~xo  de  Bera  to  make  our  experiments,  in 
the  open  air,  on  the  borders  of  the  water  itself.  To  catch  the  gymnoti 
with  nets  is  very  difficult,  on  account  of  the  extreme  agility  of  the 
fish,  which  bury  themselves  in  the  mud  like  serpents.  Wo  would  not 
employ  the  barbasco.  Tliese  means  would  have  enfeebled  the  gymnoti. 
The  Indians,  therefore,  told  us  that  they  would  'fish  with  horses,* 
^  embarbascar  con  cavallos.'  We  found  it  difficult  to  form  an  idea  of  this 
extraordinary  manner  of  fishing ;  but  we  soon  saw  our  guides  return 
from  the  Savannah,  which  they  had  been  scouring  for  wild  horses  and 
mules.  They  brought  about  thirty  with  them,  which  they  forced  to 
enter  the  pool. 

• 


THE    GYMNOTUS.  345 

"  The  extraordinary  noise  caused  by  the  horses'  hoofs  makes  the  fish 
issue  from  the  mud,  and  excites  them  to  combat.  These  yellowish  and 
livid  eels,  resembling  large  aquatic  serpents,  swim  on  the  surface  of  the 
water,  and  crowd  under  the  bellies  of  the  horses  and  mules.  A  contest 
between  animals  of  so  different  an  organization  furnishes  a  very  striking 
spectacle.  The  Indians,  provided  with  harpoons  and  long,  slender  reeds, 
surround  the  pool  closely,  and  some  climb  upon  the  trees,  the  branches 
of  which  extend  horizontally  over  the  surface  of  the  water. 

"  By  their  wild  cries,  and  the  length  of  their  reeds,  they  prevent  the 
horses  from  running  away  and  reaching  the  bank  of  the  pool.  The 
eels,  stunned  by  the  noise,  defend  themselves  by  the  repeated  discharge 
of  their  electric  batteries.  During  a  long  time  they  seem  to  prove  vic- 
torious. Several  horses  sink  beneath  the  violence  of  the  invisible 
strokes,  which  they  receive  from  all  sides,  in  organs  the  most  essential 
to  life ;  and,  stunned  by  the  force  and  frequency  of  the  shocks,  they 
disappear  under  the  water.  Others,  panting,  with  mane  erect,  and  hag- 
gard eyes,  expressing  anguish,  raise  themselves,  and  endeavor  to  flee 
from  the  storm  by  which  they  are  overtaken.  They  are  driven  back 
by  the  Indians  into  the  middle  of  the  water ;  but  a  small  number 
succeed  in  eluding  the  active  vigilance  of  the  fishermen.  These  regain 
the  shore,  stumbling  at  every  step,  and  stretch  themselves  on  the  sand, 
exhausted  with  fatigue,  and  their  limbs  benumbed  by  the  electric  shocks 
of  the  gymnoti. 

"In  less  than  five  minutes  two  horses  were  drowned.  The  eel,  being 
five  feet  long,  and  pressing  itself  against  the  belly  of  the  horse,  makes 
a  discharge  along  the  whole  extent  of  its  electric  organ.  It  attacks,  at 
once,  the  breast,  the  intestines,  and  the^^/exws  caliacus  of  the  abdominal 
nerves.  It  is  natural  that  the  effect  felt  by  the  horses  should  be  more 
powerful  than  that  produced  upon  man,  by  the  touch  of  the  same  fish 
at  only  one  of  his  extremities.  The  horses  are  probably  not  killed,  but 
only  stunned.  They  are  drowned  from  the  impossibility  of  rising,  amid 
the  prolonged  struggle  between  the  other  horses  and  the  eels. 

"  We  had  little  doubt  that  the  fishing  would  terminate  by  killing, 
successively,  all  the  animals  engaged ;  but,  by  degrees,  the  impetuosity 
of  this  unequal  combat  diminished,  and  the  wearied  gymnoti  dispersed. 
They  require  a  long  rest  and  abundant  nourishment,  io  repair  what 
they  have  lost  of  galvanic  force.  The  mules  and  horses  appear  less 
frightened.  Their  manes  are  no  longer  bristled,  and  their  e}es  express 
less  dread.  The  gymnoti  approach  timidly  the  edge  of  the  marsh,  when 
they  are  taken,  by  means  of  small  harpoons  fastened  to  long  cords. 
When  the  cords  are  very  dry,  the  Indians  feel  no  shock  in  raising  the 


346  ANNATTO. 

fish  into  the  air.  In  a  few  minutes  we  had  five  large  eels,  the  greater 
part  of  which  were  but  slightly  wounded." 

The  shops  of  Para  are  well  supplied  with  English,  French,  and  Ameri- 
can goods.  The  groceries  generally  come  from  Portugal.  The  ware- 
houses are  piled  with  heaps  of  India-rubber,  nuts,  hides,  and  baskets  of 
annatto.  This  pigment  is  made  from  the  seed  of  a  bur,  which  grows 
on  a  bush  called  urucu  in  Brazil,  and  achote  in  Peru.  In  the  latter 
country  it  grows  wild,  in  great  abundance ;  in  the  former,  it  is  cultivated. 

The  seed  is  planted  in  January.  It  is  necessary  that  the  ground 
should  be  kept  clean,  the  suckers  pulled  up,  and  the  tree  trimmed,  to 
prevent  too  luxuriant  a  growth,  and  to  give  room,  so  that  the  branches 
shall  not  interlock.  The  tree  grows  to  ten  or  fifteen  feet  in  height,  and 
gives  its  first  crop  in  a  year  and  a  half.  It  afterwards  gives  two  crops 
a  year.  Each  tree  will  give  three  or  four  pounds  of  seed  in  the  year, 
which  are  about  the  size  of  No.  3,  shot,  but  irregular  in  shape.  They 
are  contained  in  a  prickly  bur,  about  the  size  and  shape  of  that  of  the 
chincapin. 

The  burs  are  gathered  just  before  they  open,  and  laid  in  the  sun  to 
dry,  when  the  seed  are  trodden  or  beaten  out.  The  coloring  matter  is 
a  red  powder  covering  the  seed,  the  principal  of  which  is  obtained  by 
soaking  the  seed  in  water  for  twenty-four  hours,  then  passing  them  be- 
tween revolving  cylinders,  and  grinding  them  to  a  pulp.  The  pulp  is 
placed  in  a  sieve,  called  gurupema,  made  of  cotton  cloth ;  water  is  poured 
on,  and  strains  through.  This  operation  is  repeated  twice  more,  and 
the  pulp  is  thrown  away.  The  liquor  strained  off  is  boiled  till  it  takes 
the  consistence  of  putty.  A  little  salt  is  added,  and  it  is  packed  in 
baskets  of  about  forty  pounds,  lined  and  covered  with  leaves.  It  is 
frequently  much  adulterated  with  boiled  rice,  tapioca,  or  sand,  to  in- 
crease the  weight.  The  price  in  Par^  is  from  three  to  fire  dollars  the 
arroba,  of  thirty-two  pounds. 


COMMERCE. 


347 


An  examination  of  the  following  tables  will  give  the  best  idea  of  the 
commerce  of  Para.  The  first  is  an  official  report  furnished  to  the  pro- 
vinci^J  assembly  by  the  President  of  the  province. 


Places. 

Importation — Value. 

Exportation— Value . 

Tears. 

Relative  to 
each  place. 

Relative  to 
each  year. 

Relative  to 
each  place. 

Relative  to 
each  year. 

1846.... 

Great  Britain 

France 

1160, 050 

52, 924 

87,608 

19,  993 

235, 105 

$117,813 

107,791 

•    123,156 

42, 693 

182,742 

3,818 

26, 202 

Portugal 

Hanse  Towns 

United  States 

Trieste 

Genoa 

Spain 

2,627 

Baltic  ports 

12, 188 

5,649 

116,881 

162, 546 

128,  .548 

18, 959 
171,577 

17,182 

22,705 
8,551 

93, 508 
114,701 
146,933 

30, 012 
145,  366 

Belgium 

1,995 
211,442 
131,347 

108, 431 

20,519 

230,531 

$560,  302 

$622,  052 

1847..-. 

Great  Britain 

France  

Portugal 

Hanse  Towns 

United  States 

Trieste 

...... .... 

Genoa 

2, 577 

6,032 

149, 774 

85, 856 

113,496 

9,576 
219,777 

2,686 

Belgium 

710,879 

646, 949 

1848.... 

Great  Britain 

France  



Portugal 

Hanse  Towns  .... 

United  States 

Austrian  dominions 
Genoa 

11,609 
10,205 
12, 547 

Denmark 

Belgium  ......... 

7,638 
483 

589, 286 

564,881 

Here  are  tables  furnished  by  Mr.  Norris,  United  States  consul  at 
Par4: 

Ainerican  Commerce  at  Para /or  1850. 


N«.  of  vessels. 

Tonnage. 

Men. 

VUue  of  imports. 

Value  of  export*. 

33 

5,452 

275 

$420, 186 

$522,293 

348 


COMMERCE. 
British  commerce  for  1860. 


Ko.  of  vessels. ;     Tonnage. 


Value  of  imports. '  Value  of  Acports. 


16 


3,  375 


$199,790        j        $291,950 


Commerce  of  Para  for  1851. 


No.  of  ves- 
sels. 

Tonnage. 

i                        1 
Men.    {  Value  of  im- '  Value    of 
j        ports.           exports. 

American...... .... 

30 
14 
10 
19 
2 
2 
2 
2 

4,574 
2,732 
536 
3,  mo, 
5J0 
320 
4S0 
420 

226        $425  484       *i7R  9in 

English ............ 

139  j        275,000 
99  '         122,830 

312  !        231,457 
IS  :           27,500 
20  !            5,250 
22  ■            4,750 
22    

335,000 
188,699 
215, 142 
131,000 

I"rei  ch 

Portuguese 

Hamburg 

Ik'lgiai;... .  .... 

IG  250 

Daue  ....... 

34  000 

S w*de ......  ...... 

2S,500 

M 

14, 233 

858  I     1,092,271 

1,4-24,801 

I  am  indebted  to  Mr.  Chaton,  French  consul  at  Pard,  for  the  follow- 
ing table,  showing  the  mean  jearly  value  of  the  articles  of  export  from 
the  city  of  Para. 


India-nibber 

Cocoa  

Cotton 

Ciunamon  (rough) 

Vegetable  wai 

Totika  beans 

Isinglass 

Piast^ba  rope 

Gum-CDpal 

Boues 

Brazilian  nutmeg. 
Kice  (shelled)  .... 

Aunatto 

Sugar 

Sarsaparilla 

Nuts 

Tapioca 


92,  Ono  arrobas 

230, 000 

" 

6, 126 

600 

457 

t^O 

993 

42, 192 

634 

2,  000 

1,020 

108,543 

7,210 

21.350 

3,  S97 

23, 208  alquiers. 

2,000 

i( 

$552.  000 

270  900 

10, 583 

1,633 

69 

6'JO 

15,968 

42, 192' 

634 

640 

3,060 

65, 126 

36,050 

16, 012 

35,073 

18,952 

3,000 


COMMERCE. 

Table — Continued. 


349 


Products. 


Eice  (in  the  husk) 

Carajurfj 

Green  hides 

Guaraoci 

Cattle 

Wood — Bardages  . 

De  fer  ... 

Madriers  . 

Planches  . 

Dry  hides 

Tiger  skins 

India-rubber  shoes 
Molasses 


Quantities. 


Value. 


12,  800 
400 
406, 900 
3,  450 
300 
349 
113 
1,53.5 
52, -il- 
ls, 000 
228 
192, 000 
2,888 


alquiers. 
pounds, 
pounds, 
pounds. 


feet. 


pairs, 
pots. 


$6,400 

388 

20,  345 

1,500 

4,500 

614 

1,084 

1,.534 

1,4&3 

19, 445 

456 

38,  400 

2,888 


$1,171,514 


To  this  sum  is  to  be  added  the  value  of  7,338  canadas  of  balsam 
copaiba,  worth  when  I  was  there  three  doUare,  now  worth  seven  and  a 
half  dollars;  besides  that  of  pots  of  oil  made  from  the  turtle,  the  alligator, 
and  the  andiroba-nut,  which  M.  Chaton  has  not  included  in  his  list. 
These  last,  however,  are  inconsiderable. 

Extracts  of  letters  from  Henry  L.  Norris,  esq.,  United  States  consul  at 
Para,  to  the  Department  of  State : 

"Merchandise,  the  produce  of  ihis  country,  is  usually  bought  for  cash, 
or  in  exchange  for  the  products  of  foreign  countries  by  way  of  barter. 
There  are  no  allowances  made  by  way  of  discoimt,  nor  is  brokerage 
paid  for  purchasing.  Cash  usually  has  the  advantage  over  barter  on  the 
price  of  produce  to  the  amount  of  from  five  to  ten  per  cent.  The 
American  business  is  done  chiefly  for  cash,  while  English,  French,  and 
Portuguese,  is  chiefly  for  barter ;  diy  goods,  &c.,  are  sold  on  long  credit, 
and  produce  taken  in  payment.  "With  the  latter  the  profits  of  trade  are 
on  the  outward  cargo ;  while  with  the  former,  the  profit,  if  any,  is  with 
the  homeward. 

"There  are  no  bounties  or  debentures  of  any  kind  allowed  here. 

♦'The  usual  commission  for  the  purchase  and  shipment  of  goods 
is  two  and  a  half  per  centum,  and  is  the  same  on  all  d^criptions  of 
produce. 

"The  American  trade,  with  few  exceptions,  is  conducted  either  by 
partners  or  agents  of  houses  at  home  ;  consequently  brokers  are  never 
employed  to  buy  produce,  and  no  brokerage  is  paid.     When  foreign 


350  COMMERCE. 

P<vj<]s  arc  sold  at  auction,  the  commissioD  paid  is  one  per  cent,  on  dry 
gocxls,  and  one  and  a  half  on  groceries. 

"Merchandise  is  brought  to  market  altogether  by  water,  and  is  usually 
delivered  into  the  storehouses  of  the  purch.aser  or  on  board  the  shipping. 

"Export  duties  are  as  follows  : 
"Meio  dezimo,  (for  the  church)         .....  5  per  cent, 
"  Exportacuo,  (for  the  govern»aent)  -         -         -         -         -  7  per  cent 
"  Vero  pezo,  (weighing) ^  per  cent. 

"  Capitazia  (paid  for  labor)  quarter  of  a  cent  the  arroba,  on  all  kinds 
of  merchaiidise. 

"  These  duties  are  levied  on  the  cu8tom-hou»e  valuation,  which  is  raado 
at  the  beginning  of  each  week,  and  not  on  the  cost  of  the  produce ;  as 
in  that  cost  is  included  a  duty  of  live  per  cent,  which  is  j)aid  on  some 
articles  when  they  are  landed  at  the  port  of  ex{>ortation.  This  hist  is  a 
provincial  tax,  which  is  levied  on  India-rubber,  tapioca,  and  farinha. 

"Produce  coming  from  an  interior  prorince — such  as  dry  hides— does 
not  pay  the  meio  drzimo  of  five  per  cent.,  as  it  is  paid  at  the  time  of 
embarking  at  the  place  of  production;  and  this  duty,  together  with 
freight,  labor,  &c.,  enters  into  the  cost  price  of  the  merchandise  at  this 
port,  which  is  the  only  shipping  port  for  the  provinces  of  ParA  and 
Amazonas. 

"  There  are  no  dock,  trade,  nor  city  dues  to  be  paid  at  this  port. 

"  Lighters  are  hired  at  two  dollars  per  day  ;  they  carry  from  forty  to 
fifty  tons. 

"  Porterage  is  done  by  blacks,  who  place  the  cargo  in  the  lighters  at 
prices  varying,  according  to  the  distance  carried,  from  three  to  four  cents 
per  bag  of  cocoa,  India-rubber,  «S:c.,  and  from  six  to  eight  cents  ench 
for  barrels  and  boxes. 

"  Nuts  and  rice  in  husk  are  delivered  alongside  the  vessel  at  the 
expense  of  the  seller. 

**  Pa<.kage8 — such  as  l>oxes,  barrels,  and  bags — are  imported  from  the 
United  States,  and  with  the  exception  of  barrels,  which  come  fille«l  with 
flour,  pay  a  duty  of  thirty  per  cent. 

"The  cost  of  cooperage  is  eight  cents  per  barrel.  All  local  imports 
or  taxes  are  paid  by  the  producer,  and  are  included  in  the  K'lling  price 
of  tlie  article.  Tlio  purchaser  receives  with  the  merchandise  a  receipt 
that  the  provincial  duty  has  been  paid,  which  receijit  is  demanded  at 
the  time  of  ex|)ortation  to  a  foreign  country  or  to  another  province. 

"There  is  so  little  intercourse  with  the  States  bordering  on  this 
province,  that  there  are  no  laws  in  force  regulating  the  transit  of  mer- 


DEPARTURE    FROM   PARA.  351 

chandise  from  Peru,  Bolivia,  Ecuador,  &c.,  but  all  merchandise  coming 
down  the  Amazon  is  considered  as  the  produce  or  manufacture  of  Brazil. 

"  By  a  law  of  Brazil,  the  estate  of  any  foreigner  who  may  die  in  this 
country  is  subject  to  the  jurisdiction  of  the  Juiz  dos  Ausentes  e  di/untos. 
A  will  is  no  protection  to  the  property,  but  it  must  be  'recovered,  availed, 
and  deposited  in  the  public  depository  by  a  juiz  competente.'  The 
getting  hold  of  the  property  by  the  heirs  to  an  estate  is  a  tedious  and 
expensive  process;  and  when  the  inheritance  consists  of  real  estate, 
about  twenty  per  cent,  is  consumed  by  taxes  of  various  kinds,  and  in 
some  cases,  by  the  collusion  of  the  officers  entrusted  with  settlement,  it 
has  disappeared  entirely.     The  French  by  treaty  are  exempted  from  this. 

"  Not  long  since,  at  Maranham,  a  guard  of  soldiers  was  placed  around 
the  dwelling  of  a  foreigner  about  to  die,  and  who  was  supposed  to  be 
possessed  of  a  large  amount  of  personal  property.  A  similar  case  also 
occurred  here,  vehich  has  created  alarm  amongst  those  of  our  countrymen 
•who  have  property  invested  in  this  country ;  for  should  it  be  made  to 
appear  that,  upon  the  death  of  one  or  more  of  the  partners  of  any  of 
our  large  mercantile  houses,  the  affairs  of  the  concern  must  pass  into 
the  hands  of  a  'juiz  competente,'  it  would  have  a  serious  effect  upon 
the  credit  and  standing  of  all  the  citizens  or  subjects  of  those  nations 
•which  have  no  treaty  with  Brazil  on  this  subject." 

It  remains  for  me  but  to  express  my  grateful  acknowledgments  for 
personal  kindness  and  information  afforded 'by  many  gentlemen  of  Para 
particularly  by  Mr.  Norris,  the  consul,  and  by  Henry  Bond  Dewey, 
esq.,  now  acting  consul.  These  gentlemen  were  unwearied  in  their 
courtesy,  and  to  them  I  owe  the  information  I  am  enabled  to  give  con- 
cerning the  history  and  present  condition  of  the  province  and  the  city. 

On  May  12th,  by  kind  invitation  of  Captain  Lee,  I  embarked  in  the 
United  States  surveying  brig  Dolphin,  having  previously  shipped  my 
collections  on  board  of  Norris's  clipper  barque  the  Peerless. 


352  KttVMB. 


CHAPTER  XIX, 
RESUME. 

My  report  wouM  be  incomplete  were  I  to  fail  to  brin£»  to  the  notice 
of  the  •h'j)arlinent  cimimstancea  concerning  the  free  navigation  of  the 
river  that  liave  occurred  since  my  return  from  the  valley  of  the  Amazon. 

Tljese  circumstances  are  clearly  the  result  of  my  mission,  which 
appejirs  to  have  opened  the  eyes  of  the  nations  who  dwell  up<jn  the 
banks  of  the  Amazon,  and  to  have  stirred  into  vigorous  action  interests 
which  liave  hitherto  laid  dormant.  They  have  an  important  and  direct 
K-aring  u]>on  the  question,  whether  the  United  States  may  or  may  not 
enter  into  commercial  relations,  by  the  way  of  the  Amazon,  with  the 
Sj)ani.Hh  American  republics,  who  own  the  headwaters  of  that  noble 
stream. 

The  government  of  the  United  States  had  scarcely  begtm  to  entertain 
the  idea  of  sending  a  comniijs'«ion  to  explore  the  valley  of  the  Amazon, 
with  a  view  to  ascertain  what  benefits  might  accrue  to  its  citizens  by 
the  establishment  of  commercial  relations  with  the  people  who  dwell 
upon  ita  bank.«,  when  th**  fact  l)ocame  known  to  Hrazil.  That  govern- 
ment, thus  awakened  to  ita  own  (more  apparent,  however,  than  real) 
interests,  ijnniediately  cast  about  for  means  to  secure  for  itself  any  ad- 
vantages that  might  arise  frmn  a  monopoly  of  the  trade  of  the  river. 

She  accordingly  despatched  to  Lima  an  able  envoy,  Duarte  da  Ponte 
RilK'iro,  with  instructions  to  make  a  treaty  with  Peru  concerning  the 
navigation  «>f  the  Amazon;  and,  this  dune,  to  proceed  to  IMivia  for 
the  same  pur]»osc,  while  the  Brazilian  R^'sident  Minister  in  lk>livia, 
Migiu-1  Maria  Lisboa,  was  sent  to  the  republic*  of  Ecuador,  Venezuela, 
and  NfW  (jrana<la,  so  a»  to  secure  for  Brazil  the  navigation  of  all  the 
oonthientM  of  the  Amazon  belonging  to  Spanish  South  Arat-rica. 

I»a  ponte  succeedi-d  in  making  with  Peru  a  treaty  highly  advan- 
tageous to  his  own  government  It  is  styled  "A  treaty  of  fluvial 
oommorce  and  navigation,  and  of  Itoundary,"  and  has  the  following 
articles  relating  to  «t«uiiib3at  navigation: 


RESUME.  353 

^^  Article  1. 

"The  republic  of  Peru,  and  his  Majesty,  the  Emperor  of  Brazil, 
desiring  to  encourage,  respectively,  the  navigation  of  the  river  Amazon 
and  its  confluents  by  steamboat,  which  by  ensuring  the  exportation  of 
the  immense  products  of  those  vast  regions,  may  contribute  to  increase 
the  number  of  the  inhabitants  and  civilize  the  savage  tribes,  agree,  that 
the  merchandise,  produce,  and  craft,  passing  from  Peru  to  Brazil,  or 
from  Brazil  to  Peru,  across  the  frontier  of  both  States,  shall  be  exempt 
from  all  duty,  imposts,  or  sale  duty,  (alcabala,)  whatsoever,  to  which 
the  same  pioducts  are  not  subject  in  the  territory  where  produced,  to 
which  they  shall  be  wholly  assimilated. 

'■'■Article  2. 

"The  high  contracting  parties,  being  aware  of  the  great  expense 
attending  the  establishment  of  steam  navigation,  and  that  it  will  not 
yield  a  profit  during  the  first  years  to  the  shareholders  of  .the  company 
destined  to  navigate  the  Amazon  from  its  source  to  its  banks  (-'litoral") 
in  Peru,  which  should  belong  exclusively  to  the  respective  States,  agree 
to  give  to  the  first  company  which  shall  be  formed  a  sum  of  money , 
during  five  years,  which  shall  not  be  less  than  $20,000  annually  for 
each  of  the  high  contracting  parties,  either  of  whom  may  increase  the 
said  amount,  if  it  suits  its  particular  interests,  without  the  other  party 
being  thereby  obliged  to  contribute  in  the  same  ratio. 

"The  conditions  to  which  the  shareholders  are  to  be  subject,  in  con- 
sideration of  the  advantages  to  be  conceded  to  them,  shall  be  declared 
in  separate  articles. 

"The  other  conterminous  States  which,  adopting  the  same  principles, 
may  desire  to  take  part  in  the  enterprise  upon  the  same  conditions,  shall 
likewise  contribute  a  certain  pecuniary  quota  to  it." 

The  5th  clause  of  the  1st  of  the  separate  articles  alluded  to  above 
declares  that  the  coinpany  to  be  formed  shall  arrange  with  both  govern- 
ments touching  the  i^pective  points  on  the  river  Amazon  or  Maranon, 
to  which  the  steamboats  shall  navigate,  &c.,  &c. 

Article  3d,  of  the  separate  articles,  declares  that  the  agents  of  the 
Imperial  government,  with  those  of  the  government  of  Peru,  duly  au- 
thorized, shall  establish  the  enterprise  ("contrataran  la  empresa")  upon 
the  terms  indicated  in  these  articles. 

The  persons  undertaking  the  enterprise  shall  agi-ee  with  the  said 
agents  touching  the  mode  and  place  in  which  they  shall  receive  the 
stipulated  sums. 
23 


354  RESUME. 

Both  goveruments,  in  their  respective  territories,  shall  take  care  of 
the  observance  of  the  conditions  agreed  upon. 

Immediately  upon  the  conclusion  of  the  treaty,  and  before  the  ex- 
change of  ratifications,  Brazil  gives  a  practical  illustration  of  the  wisdom 
of  a  remark  attributed  to  her  wily  minister  in  Lima,  which  was  prob- 
ably intended  only  for  Peruvian  ears,  and  directed  rather  at  another 
government  than  his  own,  \nz:  "that  it  was  not  expedient  for  a  weak 
nation  to  treat  with  one  more  powerful  than  itself;  because,  in  the 
interpretation  of  treaties,  the  stronger  party  always  enforced  its  own 
construction,  and  the  weaker,  as  invariably,  went  to  the  wall." 

By  a  decree  of  the  Emperor,  of  date  August  30th,  1852,*13razil  gives 
t«  Ireneo  Evangelista  de  Souza,  one  of  her  own  citizens,  the  exclusive 
privilege  of  the  navigation  of  the  Amazon  for  thirty  years,  and  arranges 
with  him  touching  the  respective  points  on  the  Amazon,  or  Maranon,  to 
which  the  steamers  shall  navigate. 

In  the  mean  time,  however,  a  new  minister,  Don  Manuel  Tirade, 
(more  awake  to  the  interests  of  his  country  than  the  fraraer  of  the 
treaty,)  takes  charge  of  the  portfolio  of  foreign  affairs  of  Peru.  He 
thus  writes  to  the  Brazilian  minister  of  foreign  affairs : 

"Ministry  of  Foreign  Affairs,  Lima, 

'"■January  20  1853. 

"Sir:  I  have  the  honor,  by  direction  of  my  government,  to  inform 
your  excellency  that  it  has  understood,  by  a  communication  from  Don 
Evaiista  Gomez  Sanchez,  our  Consul  General,  charged  with  the  exchange 
of  ratifications  of  the  treaty  celebrated  in  this  capital  on  the  23d  of 
October,  1851,  with  the  Seiior  Da  Ponte  Ribeiro,  Envoy  Extraordinary 
and  Minister  Plenipotentiary  of  his  Majesty,  the  Emperor,  that  said  ex- 
change probably  took  place  in  Kio  Janeiro,  on  the . 

"Said  commissioner  informs  me,  at  the  same  time,  that  the  govern- 
ment of  his  Majesty  has  conceded  a  privilege  in  favor  of  Don  Juan 
('Ireneo')  Evangelista  de  Souza  for  the  establishment  of  navigation  by 
steam  of  the  river  Amazon,  under  the  stipulatic^s  of  a  contract  cele- 
brated by  authority  of  his  Majesty,  approved  in  his  decree  of  the  30th 
of  August  of  the  preceding  year. 

"Said  privilege  defines  the  course  of  the  lines  which  are  to  be  estab- 
lished ;  the  first  to  run  from  the  city  of  Belen,  capital  of  the  province 
«f  Park,  to  the  town  at  the  mouth  of  the  Rio  Negro,  capital  of  the 
province  of  Aniazonas ;  and  the  second  to  continue  on  from  this  last 
city  to  Nauta,  a  town  situated  on  the  Peruvian  banks. 


RESUME.  355 

"  The  establishment  of  said  navigation  by  steam  upon  the  Amazon  is 
a  point  agreed  upon  in  article  2d  of  the  treaty;  as  also  the  annual 
subsidy  of  $20,000  by  each  one  of  the  governments  for  the  space  of 
five  years  in  favor  of  the  company  that  will  undertake  the  enterprise  ; 
conditions  to  which  this  government  is  bound,  and  which  it  is  desiroijs 
of  fulfilling. 

"  This  government,  then,  being  a^vare  of  the  contract  celebrated  with 
the  above-mentioned  Don  Juan  ('Ireneo')  Evangelista  de  Souza,  it  is 
fit  that  I  should  say  to  your  Excellency  that,  as  according  to  article  3d 
of  the  separate  articles  of  the  treaty,  the  contracts  for  navigation  should 
be  made  by  agents  duly  authorized  by  both  governments  (the  govern- 
ment of  his  Majesty  having  initiated  the  formation  of  an  enterprise  to 
this  efiect,  and  having  also  reference  to  that  part  of  the  course  of  the 
river  belonging  to  Peru,  moved,  without  doubt,  by  the  desire  of  hasten- 
ing the  attainment  of  the  great  objects  to  which  this  navigation  is 
destined,)  this  government  can  but  hope  that  that  of  your  Excellency 
will  deign  to  inform  the  company  organized  in  Rio  Janeiro,  that,  as 
respects  the  Peruvian  shores,  the  conditions  of  navigation,  its  course 
and  extent,  and  the  obligations  relative  to  Peru,  cannot  be  considered 
as  existing  or  efficacious,  except  for  the  five  years  agreed  upon  by  the 
treaty,  and  by  the  celebration  of  an  agreement  or  contract  with  the 
same  government  whence  these  obligations  may  arise. 

"  There  being  no  evidence  up  to  this  time  that  our  Consul  General, 
Commissioner  Don  Evarista  Gomez  Sanchez,  has  been  consulted  in  the 
agreement ;  and  it  being  believed  that,  at  the  date  of  it,  he  was  not  in 
Rio  Janeiro,  your  Excellency  will  see  how  proper  it  is  to  make  to  you 
this  anticipation  in  furtherance  of  the  realization  of  that  internal  navi- 
gation which,  for  so  long  a  time,  has  yearned  for  a  decided  and  effica- 
cious protection  on  the  part  of  the  States  who  share  these  fruitful  waters, 
destined  to  open  to  the  world  new  objects  of  speculation  and  of  traffic, 
and  to  give  to  commerce  and  civilization  one  more  field  for  their  efforts. 

"  In  the  mean  time,  as,  according  to  the  advices  of  the  same  Consul 
General,  the  first  trip  of  the  new  steamers  is  to  be  made  in  the  month 
of  May  next,  this  government — for  the  purpose  of  avoiding  difficulties 
in  their  running,  and  to  contribute  to  the  important  end  which  they  are 
destined  to  accomplish,  until  the  opportunity  occurs  to  arrange  the  con- 
ditions obligatory  in  that  navigation  by  a  free  contract  on  its  part,  as  I 
have  already  expressed  to  your  Excellency,  and  according  to  the  mutual 
obligations  contracted  in  the  treaty — has  thought  proper  to  direct,  as  a 
facility  spontaneously  conceded  in  the  mean  time  to  the  navigation,  that 
the  authorities  who  exercise  jurisdiction  on  those  shores  should  permit 


356  RESUME. 

the  running  of  the  steamers  on  the  corresponding  waters  of  Peru,  and 
SMign  them  point*  where  the\'  may  touch,  until  the  establishment  of  an 
arrangement  to  which  this  navigation  is  to  be  definitely  subjected,  by 
means  of  a  contract  which  this  government  is  bound  to  make/ur  five 
years  according  to  stipulation,  and  which  it  hopes  your  Excellency  will 
deign  to  cause  to  be  offered  for  its  free  acxeptatice  by  the  associates  of 
the  company  created  under  the  authority  of  his  Majesty,  the  Kinptror. 
"  With  sentiments,  <kc ,  «tc. 

JOSK  MANUEL  TIRAIM ). 
"To  his  Excellency,  the  Minister  of  Fokeign  Akkaikh  ok  Buazil," 

But  whilst  Tirado  is  penning  this  courtly  caveat  in  Lima,  Gomez 
Sanchez,  in  Rio  Janeiro,  is  giving  his  assent  to  the  De  Sou/a  contract, 
extending  it  in  all  its  force  to  Peru,  and  entering  into  an  agreement 
with  De  Souza  by  which  he  gives  him  the  right  of  exploring  the  Ucay- 
ali,  and  other  rivers  of  the  west,  from  Rio,  besidr:8  other  privileges, 
which,  if  acceded  to  by  the  Peruvian  government,  would  give  Brazil  all 
power  over  the  navigation  of  those  rivers,  as  well  as  over  that  of  the 
main  stream. 

Fortunately  for  the  interests  of  commerce  in  gtiK-ral,  and  for  the 
more  speedy  development  of  the  great  resources  that  lie  hid  in  the  val- 
ley of  the  Amazon,  Tirado  praclically  disavows  the  .nction  of  Gomez 
Sanchez,  and  obtains  from  the  Council  of  State  of  Peru  its  assent  (sub- 
ject, of  course,  to  the  approval  of  the  legislative  power)  to  the  appro- 
priation of  $200,000  towaidsthe  exploration  by  steamboat  of  the  I'eru- 
vian  tributaries  of  the  Amazon,  and  the  colonization  and  settlement  of 
their  fertile  lands.  He  has  already  appropriated  $75,000  of  this  sum 
for  the  purchase  of  two  small  steamers,  which  are  now  in  the  course  of 
construction  in  the  United  States,  and  which  will  be  delivered  at  Loreto 
(the  frontier  port  of  Peru  on  the  Amazon)  by  the  1st  of  January,  1854. 

The  enlightened  and  patriotic  President  of  Peru,  Don  Jose  Uufino 
Echenique,  approving  and  adopting  the  jx>licy  of  Tirado,  goes  further, 
and  ifsues  a  decree  relative  to  the  opening  and  settlement  of  the  Ama- 
zon. It  is  dated  April  5,  1853.  I  give  a  translation  of  some  of  ita 
more  important  articles : 

ArtirU  1. 

In  accordance  with  the  treaty  concludtil  with  the  empire  of  Brazil, 
on  the  23d  of  Octol»er,  1851,  navigation,  trade,  and  commerce,  ou  the 
part  of  Brazilian  vessels  and  subjects,  is  allowed  upon  the  waters  of  the 


RESUME.  357 

Amazon,  in  all  that  part  of  its  banks  belonging  to  Peru  as  far  as  Nauta, 
at  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali. 

Article  2. 

The  subjects  and  citizens  of  other  nations  which  have  treaties  with 
Peru,  by  virtue  of  which  they  may  enjoy  the  rights  of  those  of  the 
most  favored  nation,  or  to  whom  those  same  rights,  as  regards  com- 
merce and  navigation,  in  conformity  with  said  treaties,  may  be  commu- 
nicable, shall,  in  case  of  obtaining  entrance  into  the  waters  of  the  Amazon, 
enjoy,  upon  the  Peruvian  shores,  the  rights  conceded  to  the  vessels  and 
subjects  of  Brazil  by  the  foregoing  article. 

Article  3. 

To  carry  into  effect  the  two  preceding  articles,  and  in  agreement 
with  them,  the  ports  of  Nauta  and  Loreto  are  declared  open  to  foreign 
commerce. 

Article  4. 

In  conformity  to  the  law  o^November  20,  1852,  no  import  or  export 
duties  shall  be  paid  in  said  free  ports  on  merchandise  or  produce  which 
may  be  introduced  or  taken  thence.  This,  however,  does  not  extend  to 
dues  merely  municipal,  which  the  people  themselves  may  impose  for 
objects  of  local  utility. 

Article  10. 

The  Governor- General  (resident  in  Loreto)  is  empowered  to  concede 
gratuitously  to  all,  whether  Peruvians  or  foreigners,  who  wish  to  estab- 
lish themselves  in  those  countries  under  the  national  rule  and  in  subor- 
dination to  the  laws  and  authorities,  titles  of  possession  to  land  (in 
conformity  with  the  law  of  November  21,  1852.)  from  two  to  forty  /a»- 
e^adas,  in  proportion  to  the  means  and  ability  of  cultivation,  and  number 
of  individuals  who  may  constitute  the  family  of  those  who  shall  establish 
themselves.  He  will  give  an  account  of  these  concessions,  so  that  the 
government  may  confirm  them,  and  expedite  titles  of  proprietorship. 

Article  11. 

The  governors  of  the  districts  may  make  concessions  of  lands  from 
two  to  four  fanegadas,  informing  the  Governor-General,  who  shall  also 
inform  the  government. 


358  RESUME. 

Article  12. 


Larger  grants  of  lands  for  founding  colonies,  towns,  and  estates,  will 
be  made  by  the  government  gratuitously,  but  by  means  of  agreements 
with  contractors,  in  which  the  conditions  of  this  colonization  shall  be 
established. 


Article  13. 

All  concessions  of  lands  made  to  individuals  or  families,  in  conformity 
with  articles  10  and  11,  shall  be  void,  if,  at  the  end  of  eighteen  months, 
no  attempt  has  been  made  to  cultivate  or  to  build  upon  them. 

Article  15. 

Over  and  above  the  reward  which  the  law  of  the  17th  of  November, 
1849,  concedes  to  vessels  or  contractors  who  may  introduce  colonists, 
the  government  binds  itself  to  give  to  those  who  may  come  with  desti- 
nation to  the  lands  or  valleys  of  the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries  in  Peru, 
a  passage  to  the  place,  implements  of  husbandry,  and  seeds,  all  gratu- 
itous ;  for  which  purpose  suflBcient  deposit  shall  be  placed  in  the  hands 
of  the  Governor  General  at  Loreto. 


Article  16. 

A  national  vessel  shall  be  detailed  for  the  service  of  carrying  those 
who,  whether  citizens-born  or  emigrant  foreigners,  may  desire  to  estab- 
lish themselves  in  those  countries ;  and,  after  being  landed  at  Huanchaco, 
the  Prefect  of  Libertad  shall  make  provision  for  the  transportation  of  the 
immigrants  to  said  places,  by  the  route  of  the  Huallaga. 

Article  17. 

In  conformity  with  the  law  of  November  21,  1832,  the  lands  culti- 
vated and  houses  built  shall  be  exempt  from  all  contributions,  and  shall 
enjoy  the  other  privileges  which  the  laws  concede  to  the  owners  of 
uncleared  lands. 

Article  18. 

The  new  population  shall  pay  no  contribution  for  the  space  of  twenty 
years ;  nor  shall  the  Catholics  pay  obventional  or  parochial  dues,  the 
cures  that  shall  be  there  established  being  at  the  expense  of  the  State. 


RESUME.  359 

The  new  population  shall  also  be  exempt  from  the  impost  on  stamped 
paper,  being  permitted  to  use  common  paper  for  their  petitions  and 
contracts. 

Article  21. 

It  shall  be  permitted  in  the  new  settlements  that  the  individuals  who 
form  them  may  unite  themselves  in  municipal  corporations,  under  the 
presidency  of  the  governors  of  the  respective  districts  or  territories,  for 
the  purpose  of  making  laws  relative  to  the  local  administration,  without 
giving  the  governors  created  by  this  decree  any  power  to  interfere  with 
rights,  of  whatever  nature,  in  respect  to  individual  liberty ;  they  only 
taking  care  for  the  preservation  of  public  order,  and  of  the  national 
authority,  in  conformity  with  the  laws. 

Article  22. 

Because  this  territory  is  a  new  establishment,  and  has  no  judicial 
authorities,  it  shall  be  permitted,  for  the  administration  of  justice,  that 
the  new  settlers  shall  name  t^eir  own  judges,  electing  them  in  the  form 
most  convenient,  until  Congress  shall  legislate  in  relation  to  fhe  admin- 
istration of  justice  and  in  municipal  affairs. 

The  other  articles  divide  the  territory  proposed  to  be  settled  into 
districts  :  four  on  the  Amazon,  from  Loreto  upwards  to  Nauta  ;  two  oa 
the  Ucayali,  from  the  mouth  to  Sarayacu ;  and  four  on  the  Huallaga, 
from  the  mouth  of  Tingo  Maria — all  under  the  direction  of  a  governor 
general  established  at  Loreto.  The  Intendente  general  of  the  mission* 
of  Pozuzu,  which  are  near  the  sources  of  the  Pachitea,  a  confluent  of 
the  Ucayali,  is  directed  to  observe  the  conditions  of  the  decree ;  while 
the  governors  of  the  Upper  Mission,  which  is  all  the  country  on  both 
sides  of  the  Amazon  above  the  mouth  of  the  Huallaga,  are  directed  to 
exercise  their  authority  as  before,  in  dependence  on  the  })refecture  of 
Amazonas,  until  special  decrees  shall  be  issued  for  their  guidance  and 
government. 

Article  25  appropriates  the  funds  necessary  to  open  roads  from 
Cerro  Pasco  to  Pozuzu,  and  from  Pozuzu  to  Mayro,  at  the  head  of 
navigation  on  the  Pachitea,  under  the  direction  of  the  intendente  of 
Pozuzu.  So  that  my  old  chatty  acquaintance  of  Huanuco,  whom  Col. 
Lucar  designated  as  the  best  animal  magnetizer  in  the  world,  has  at 
last  carried  his  point  and  accomplished  his  long-cherished  purpose.  If 
the  country  between  Cerro  Pasco  and  Mayro  be  such  as  he  described  it, 


3«0 


RE5UMB. 


ths  cerudrh-  -will  be  the  best  roate  of  cnmiminkatioii  between  Lima 
mod  the  Ai:&i^Tic :  bui  e&meet  and  eathusiasdc  men  see  do  obstacles  to 
their  faroritc  shemes ;  and  I  much  doubt  if  this  road  would,  according 
to  b's  s-xv-'Ub:.  run  for  the  greater  part  of  its  distance  over  a  panipa  or 
^aiiL 

TLr  p:-ni.;.ns  •:■:  Is^i  granted  by  this  decree  are  not  sufficiently  lai^ 
a  fianeg^'ia  be'.iig  only  aK'.ui  two  acres ;  but  I  have  no  doubt  that  a 
proper  repre?ei.:sn:'n  to  the  Peruvian  government  would  set  this  matter 
i^ht,  and  very  maoh  increase  the  aze  of  the  grants.  No  man  would 
be  willmg  to  undergo  the  exposure,  privations,  and  hardships  of  a  dwell- 
ii^  in  the  wDdemess  whilst  he  was  clearing  his  lands,  unless  with  the 
fro^>eet  of  having  a  Urge  and  valnai:>le  estate,  if  not  available  for  himself, 
at  least  £:»'  his  children.  The  government  should  make  legal  tides  to 
tath  adak  male  settle-  of  a  tract  of  land  at  least  a  mile  square. 

The  decree  says  nothing  in  relation  to  toleration  of  creeds  in  religion. 
The  President  ojvld  not  arrant  toleration,  for  it  would  be  contrary  to  the 
©oostirution  oi  Peru ;  but  he  know^  as  well  as  I  do  that  there  will  be 
rerv  little  trouble  in  that  country  from  that  cause.  The  country  will 
affind  room  for  every  shade  of  opinion  Mid  every  form  of  worship  ;  and 
BKa  win  be  too  busy  there  for  years  to  cctoe  to  find  leisure  for  quarrel- 
Kng  OB  Each  trifling  yet  mischievous  subjects.  The  decree  refers  in 
several  places  particnlariy  to  Catholics,  as  if  in  contradistinction  to,  and 
tacit  acknowledgment  of,  a  Protestant  interest. 

In  his  letter  to  the  council  of  state,  asking  its  concurrence  in  the 
ap}M>opriadon  by  the  executive  of  the  #200,000  towards  the  establish- 
ment o€ steam  navigation  and  exploration  on  the  Ucayali  and  Huallaga 
rirera.  sod  the  colonization  and  settlement  of  the  lands  upon  their 
banks,  Senor  Tirado  thus  expresses  himself: 

"  AmoEg?it  the  most  urgent  national  obligations  is  that  of  procuring 
the  civilization  of  the  savage  tribes  who  dwell  on  the  borders  of  the 
Ucayali  and  in  other  f«arts  of  Eastern  Peru ;  and  also  that  which  binds 
the  republic  to  lay  the  foundations  of  the  prosperity  which  may  be 
expected  from  commerce  and  communication  with  the  rest  of  the  world, 
by  means  of  the  navigation  of  the  Amaz-^n  and  its  confluents. 

"  The  Spanish  government,  and  subsequently  the  independent,  on  ac- 
count of  divers  circumstances,  has  applied  but  feeble  means  to  the 
accomplishment  of  the  first  of  these  objects.  The  wants  and  spirit  of 
the  age  now  call  for  the  full  and  immediate  application  of  the  care  and 
reeooroes  of  the  nation  towards  these  places,  subject  to  the  territorial 
sovereignty  of  Peru,  which  will  soon  see  an  influx  of  foreign  merchan- 


RESUME.  361 

dise,  and  in  which,  probably,  an  abundant  emigration,  and  an  extensive 
traffic,  will  create  towns  of  important  commerce  and  a  field  for  the  efforts 
of  civilization  and  industiy." 

These  are  patriotic  and  statesmanlike  views,  which  give  ample  testi- 
mony to  the  truth  of  Ijurra's  estimate  of  the  character  of  this  wise  min- 
ister, contained  in  a  recent  letter  to  me.     He  says : 

"  The  minister  Tirado  is  the  man  for  the  age  in  Peru.  In  nothing 
does  he  resemble  his  predecessors  or  his  cotemporaries.  His  travels  in 
the  United  States,  and  in  some  parts  of  Europe,  have  not  been  barren 
of  results.  Endowed  with  an  intellect  that  comprehends  all  at  a  glance, 
and  full  of  knowledge,  he  is  entirely  worthy  of  the  appellation  of  a 
true  statesman.  At  the  same  time,  possessed  of  a  heart  which  is  full  of 
enthusiasm  and  patriotism,  he  desires  to  introduce  into  my  unhappy 
country  the  institutions,  laws,  and  manners,  which  have  rendered  happy 
other  countries  that  T  have  known,  and  which,  doubtless,  will  be  adapt- 
a;ble  to  the  necessities  of  our  people,  and  conducive  to  the  rapid  progress 
of  the  republic. 

"  He  will  commence  by  calling  over  industrious  men  of  all  professions 
and  creeds,  of  all  ages,  nations,  and  conditions,  with  the  sole  condition 
that  they  shall  be  moral  and  laborious ;  he  will  endow  them  with  those 
fertile  lands,  with  which  you  are  familiar,  to  the  eastward  of  the  Andes ; 
he  will  supply  them  with  tools,  seeds,  and  domestic  animals,  and  will 
give  them  the  necessary  guarantees  that  they  may  live  together  like 
brothers,  with  absolute  liberty  of  action  and  of  conscience," 

All  this,  and  more,  has  Tirado  accomplished  in  the  recent  decree  of 
the  Peruvian  government.  I  think  that  I  can  also  trace  Ijurra's  hand  in 
this  action  of  the  government,  and  fancy  that  it  is  the  result  of  many 
conversations  we  had  on  this  subject  during  our  long  voyage.  He  is 
now  in  high  favor  with  the  government,  and  has  been  sent  to  Loreto  in 
quality  of  sub  prefect  and  military  commandant,  (second  in  authority  in 
the  new  province.)  He  writes  me  that  he  shall  establish  himself  at 
Caballo  cocha,  where  he  will  labor  with  zeal  and  vigor  in  the  great 
cause,  till  death  overtakes  him.  Long  and  late  may  it  be  in  coming  to 
my  faithful  companion. 

Fortunately  for  her  own  interests,  the  advancement  of  commerce,  and 
the  progress  of  civilization,  Bolivia  refused  to  listen  to  the  Brazilian 
envoy ;  she  knew  that,  even  with  the  assistance  of  Brazil,  she  was  not 
able  to  undertake,  with  any  prospect  of  success,  the  navigation  of  the 
rivers,  and  the  development  of  the  resources  of  her  great  territory.  She 
preferred  to  entrust  this  enterprise  to  the  energy  and  competition  of  the 
great  commercial  nations  of  the  world,  rather  than  take  it  on  her  own 


S62  RESUME.  ^ 

shoulders  by  a  useless  exclusiveness ;  and  she  therefore  issued  a  decree 
on  the  27th  of  January,  1853,  declaring  several  ports  on  e<-ch  and  all 
of  her  rivers  which  communicAte  with  the  Atlantic,  whether  by  the  La 
Plata  or  the  Amazon,  free  and  open  to  the  commerce  of  the  world. 

This  was  a  very  important  document;  it  put  the  Northern  republics  oh 
their  guard,  and  excited  a  spirit  of  emulation  in  their  governments.  I 
have  heard  nothing  of  the  result  of  Lisboa's  mission ;  but  I  know  that 
some  of  the  most  distinguished  citizens  of  those  republics  have  declared 
themselves  favorable  to  the  project  of  opening  their  rivers  and  ports  to 
foreign  trade,  and  are  disposed  to  urge  their  respective  governments,  if 
necessary,  to  demand  of  Brazil  the  right  of  way  to  the  ocean. 

Independently  of  the  action  of  the  Spanish  American  republics  con- 
cerning the  free  navigation  of  their  tributaries  of  the  Amazon,  we  have 
a  special  treaty  with  Peru,  negotiated  by  J.  Randolph  Clay,  our  present 
minister,  in  July,  1851,  which  entitles  us,  under  the  present  circum- 
stances, to  the  na\"igation  of  the  Peruvian  Amazon.  The  second  article 
of  that  treaty  declares  that,  "  The  two  high-contracting  parties  hereby 
bind  and  engage  themselves  not  to  grant  any  favor,  privilege,  or  immu- 
nity whatever,  in  matters  of  commerce  and  navigation,  to  other  nations, 
which  shall  not  be  also  immediately  extended  to  the  citizens  of  the 
other  contracting  party,  who  shall  enjoy  the  same  gratuitously,  or  on 
giving  a  compensation  as  nearly  as  possible  of  proportionate  value  and 
eflPect,  to  be  adjusted  by  mutual  agreement,  if  the  concession  shall  have 
been  conditional." 

The  concession  to  Brazil  is  conditional,  but  we  shall  J5nd  no  diflSculty 
in  "  giving  a  compensation  as  nearly  as  possible  of  proportionate  value 
and  eifeet ;"  that  is  a  matter  for  Peru  to  decide,  and  there  is  little  doubt 
but  that  she  will  consider  the  presence  of  our  people  and  our  vessels  in 
her  country,  and  upon  her  streams,  as  being  of  proportionate  value. 

It  will  be  thus  seen  that  our  citizens  have  a  legal  right,  by  express 
grant  and  decree,  to  trade  upon  the  interior  waters  of  Peru  and  Bolivia, 
and  it  is  presumed  that  Brazil  will  not  attempt  to  dispute  the  now  well- 
settled  doctrine,  that  no  nation  holding  the  mouth  of  a  river  has  a  right 
to  bar  the  way  to  market  of  a  nation  holding  higher  up,  or  to  prevent 
that  nation's  trade  and  intercourse  with  whom  she  will,  by  a  great 
highway  common  to  both. 

But  Brazil  has  eflfectually  closed  the  Amazon  by  her  De  Souza  con- 
tract ;  she  gives  him  tlie  exclusive  privilege  for  thirty  years,  with  a 
bonus  of  $80,000  per  annum,  besides  guaranteeing  to  him  the  $20,000 
of  Peru.  This  of  course  defies  competition,  though  I  very  much  doubt 
if  the  contract  will  endure  ;  the  Brazilians  are  so  little  acquainted  with 


RESUME.  363 

river  steam  navigation  that  De  Souza  will  run  his  boats  at  great  cost ; 
the  conditions  of  the  contract  are  also  stringent  and  oppressive ;  and 
under  such  circumstances,  even  with  the  bonus  of  |100,000,  I  doubt  if 
the  trade  of  the  river  for  several  years  to  come  will  support  the  six 
steamers  that  he  contracts  to  keep  on  the  line. 

Brazil,  too,  will  soon  see  that  in  this  matter  she  is  standing  in  her 
own  light.  The  efforts  of  this  company,  though  partly  supported  by  the 
government,  will  make  little  beneficial  impression  upon  so  vast  a  countiy, 
in  comparison  with  that  which  would  be  made  by  the  active  competi- 
tion of  the  commercial  nations  of  the  world. 

Were  she  to  adopt  a  liberal  instead  of  an  exclusive  policy,  throw  open 
the  Amazon  to  foreign  commerce  and  competition,  invite  settlement  upon 
its  banks,  and  encourage  emigration  by  liberal  grants  of  lands,  and 
eflScient  protection  to  person  and  property,  backed  as  she  is  by  such 
natural  advantages,  imagination  could  scarcely  follow  her  giant  strides 
towards  wealth  and  greatness. 

She,  together  with  the  five  Spanish  American  republics  above  named, 
owns  in  the  valley  of  the  Amazon  more  than  two  millions  of  square 
miles  of  land,  intersected  in  every  direction  by  many  thousand  miles  of 
what  might  be  called  canal  navigation.  As  a  general  rule,  large  ships 
may  sail  thousands  of  miles  to  the  foot  of  the  falls  of  the  gigantic  rivers 
of  this  country;  and  in  Brazil  particularly,  a  few  hundred  miles  of 
artificial  canal  would  open  to  the  steamboat,  and  render  available,  thou- 
sands of  miles  more. 

This  land  is  of  unrivalled  fertility ;  on  account  of  its  geographical 
situation  and  topographical  and  geological  formation,  it  produces  nearly 
everything  essential  to  the  comfort  and  well-being  of  man.  On  the  top 
and  eastern  slope  of  the  Andes  lie  hid  unimaginable  quantities  of  silver, 
iron,  coal,  copper,  and  quicksilver,  waiting  but  the  application  of  sience 
and  the  hand  of  industry  for  their  development.  The  successful  working 
of  the  quicksilver  mines  of  Huancavelica  would  add  several  millions  of 
silver  to  the  annual  product  of  Cerro  Pasco  alone.  Many  of  the  streams 
that  dash  from  the  summits  of  the  Cordilleras  wash  gold  from  the 
mountain-side,  and  deposit  it  in  the  hollows  and  gulches  as  they  pass. 
Barley,  quinua,  and  potatoes,  best  grown  in  a  cold,  with  wheat,  rye, 
maize,  clover,  and  tobacco,  products  of  a  temperate  region,  deck  the 
mountainside,  and  beautify  the  valley;  while  immense  herds  of  sheep, 
llamas,  alpacas,  and  vicunas  feed  upon  those  elevated  plains,  and  yield 
wool  of  the  finest  and  longest  staple. 

Descending  towards  the  plain,  and  only  for  a  few  miles,  the  eye  of 
the  traveller  from  the  temperate  zone  is  held  with  wonder  and  delight 


364  RESUME. 

by  tlie  beautiful  and  strange  productions  of  the  torrid.  He  sees  for  the 
first  time  the  symmetrical  coft'ee-bush,  rich  with  its  dark-green  leaves, 
its  pure  white  blossoms,  and  its  gay,  red  fruit.  The  prolific  plantain, 
with  its  great  waving  fan-like  leaf,  and  immense  pendant  branches  of 
golden-looking  fruit,  enchains  his  attegtion.  The  sugar-cane  waves  in 
rank  luxuriance  before  him,  and  if  he  be  familiar  with  Southern  planta- 
tions, his  heart  swells  with  emotion  as  the  gay  yellow  blossoms  and  white 
boll  of  the  cotton  sets  before  his  mind's  eye  the  familiar  scenes  of  home. 

Fruits,  too,  of  the  finest  quality  and  most  luscious  flavor,  grow  here  ; 
oranges,  lemons,  bananas,  pine-apples,  melons,  chirimoyas,  granadillas, 
and  many  others,  which,  \mpleasaat  to  the  taste  at  first,  become  with  use 
exceedingly  grateful  to  the  accustomed  palate.  The  Indian  gets  here 
his  indispensable  coca,  and  the  forests  at  certain  sejvsons  are  redolent 
with  the  perfume  of  the  vanilla. 

It  is  sad  to  recollect  that  in  this  beautiful  country  (I  have  before  me 
the  valley  of  the  Chanchamayo)  men  should  have  oftered  me  title 
deeds  in  gratuity  to  as  much  of  this  rich  land  as  I  wanted.  Many  of 
the  inhabitants  of  Tarraa  hold  grants  of  land  in  the  Chanchamayo 
country  from  the  government,  but  ai'e  so  distrustful  of  its  ability  to 
protest  them  in  their  labors  from  the  encroachments  of  the  savages,  that 
they  do  not  cultivate  them. 

About  half  a  dozen  persons  only  have  cleared  and  are  cultivating 
haciendas.  One  of  these,  the  brave  old  Catalan  Zapatero,  was  building 
himself  a  fire-proof  house,  mounting  swivels  at  his  gate,  and  swearing 
in  the  jargon  of  his  province  that,  protection  or  no  protection,  he  would 
bide  the  brunt  of  the  savages,  and  not  give  up  what  had  cost  him  so 
much  time  and  labor  without  a  fight  for  it.  It  is  a  pity  that  there  are 
not  more  like  him.  The  Peruvian  government,  however,  should  assure 
the  settlers  of  efficient  protection.  It  should  not  only  keep  up  the 
stockade  of  San  Ramon,  but  should  open  a  road  down  the  valley  of  the 
Chanchamayo  to  some  navigable  point  on  that  stream,  or  to  the  Ucayali 
itself,  establishing  other  stockades  along  the  route  for  the  protection 
from  the  Indians  of  those  whom  liberal  offers  may  attract  to  the  settle- 
ment and  cultivation  of  tliat  delightful  country.  I  feel  confident  that 
she  will  pierce  the  continent  and  open  a  communication  with  the 
Atlantic  with  more  facility  and  advantage  by  this  route  than  by  any 
other. 

The  climate  of  this  country  is  pleasant  and  healthy ;  it  is  entirely 
free  from  the  annoyance  of  sand  flies  and  musquitoes,  which  infest  the 
lower  part  of  the  tributaries,  and  nearly  the  whole  course  of  the  Amazon. 
There  is  too  much  rain  for  agreeability  from  August  to  March ;  but 


RESUME.  365 

nothing  could  be  more  pleasant  than  the  "weather  when  I  was  there  in 
June. 

The  country  everywhere  in  Peru,  at  the  eastern  foot  of  the  Andes,  is 
such  as  I  have  described  above.  Further  down  we  find  the  soil,  the 
peculiar  condition,  the  productions  of  a  country  which  is  occasionally 
overflowed,  and  then  subjected,  with  still  occasional  showers,  to  the 
influence  of  a  tropical  sun.  From  these  causes  we  see  a  fecundity  of 
soil  and  a  rapidity  of  vegetation  that  is  marvellous,  and  to  which  even 
Egypt,  the  ancient  granary  of  Europe,  affords  no  parallel,  because, 
similar  in  some  other  respects,  this  country  has  the  advantage  of  Egypt 
in  that  there  is  here  no  drought.  Here  trees,  evidently  young,  shoot 
up  to  such  a  height  that  no  fowling  piece  will  reach  the  game  seated 
on  their  topmost  branches,  and  with  such  rapidity  that  the  roots  have 
not  strength  or  sufficient  hold  upon  the  soil  to  support  their  weight,  and 
they  are  continually  falling,  borne  down  by  the  slightest  breeze,  or  by 
the  mass  of  parasites  and  creepers  that  envelop  them  from  root  to  top. 

This  is  the  country  of  rice,  of  sarsaparilla,  of  India-rubber,  balsam 
copaiba,  gum  copal,  animal  and  vegetable  wax,  cocoa,  Brazilian  nutmeg. 
Tonka  beans,  ginger,  black  pepper,  arrow-root,  tapioca,  annatto,  indigo, 
sapucaia,  and  Brazil  nuts;  dyes  of  the  gayest  colors,  drugs  of  rare 
virtue,  variegated  cabinet  woods  of  the  finest  grain,  and  susceptible  of 
the  highest  polish.  The  forests  are  filled  with  game,  and  the  rivers 
stocked  with  turtle  and  fish.  Here  dwell  the  anta  or  wild  cow,  the 
peixi-boi  or  fish-ox,  the  sloth,  the  ant-eater,  the  beautiful  black  tiger, 
the  mysterious  electric  eel,  the  boa  constrictor,  the  anaconda,  the  deadly 
coral  snake,  the  voracious  alligator,  monkeys  in  endless  variety,  birds  of 
the  most  brilliant  plumage,  and  insects  of  the  strangest  forms  and  gayest 
colors. 

The  climate  of  this  country  is  salubrious  and  the  temperature  agree- 
able. The  direct  rays  of  the  sun  are  tempered  by  an  almost  constant 
east  wind,  laden  with  moisture  from  the  ocean,  so  that  one  never 
suffers  either  from  heat  or  cold.  The  man  accustomed  to  this  climate 
is  ever  unwilling  to  give  it  up  for  a  more  bracing  one,  and  will  generally 
refuse  to  exchange  the  abandon  and  freedom  from  restraint  that  char- 
acterises his  Hfe  there,  for  the  labor  and  struggle  necessary  even  to 
maintain  existence  in  a  more  rigorous  climate  or  barren  soil.  The 
active,  the  industrious,  and  the  enterprising,  will  be  here,  as  elsewhere, 
in  advance  of  his  fellows;  but  this  is  the  very  paradise  of  the  lazy  and 
the  careless.  Here,  and  here  only,  such  an  one  may  maintain  life  almost 
without  labor. 

I  met  with  no  epidemics  on  my  route ;  except  at  Para,  the  country 


366  RESUME. 

seemed  a  stranger  to  yellow  fever,  small-pox,  or  cholera.  There  seemed 
to  be  a  narrow  belt  of  country  on  each  side  of  the  Amazon  where 
bilious  fevers,  called  sezoeiis  or  maldtas,  were  particularly  prevalent. 
ITiese  fevers  are  of  malignant  type,  and  often  terminate  in  fatal  jaun- 
dice. I  was  told  that  six  or  eight  days'  navigation  on  each  tributary, 
from  the  mouth  upwards,  would  bring  me  to  this  country,  and  three 
or  four  more  would  pass  me  through  it ;  and  that  I  ran  little  risk  of 
taking  the  fever  if  I  passed  directly  through.  It  appeared,  also,  to  be 
confined  to  a  particular  region  of  country  with  regard  to  longitude.  I 
heard  nothing  of  it  on  the  Huallaga,  the  Ucayali,  or  the  Tapajos,  while 
it  was  spoken  of  with  dread  on  the  Trombetas,  the  Madeira,  the  Negro, 
and  the  Purus.  Filth  and  carelessness  in  this  climate  produce  ugly 
cutaneous  aftections,  with  which  the  Indians  are  much  aflBicted,  and  I 
heard  of  cases  of  elephantiasis  and  leprosy. 

I  have  been  describing  the  country  bordering  on  the  Amazon.  Up 
the  tributaries,  midway  between  their  mouth  and  source,  on  each  side 
are  wide  savannahs,  where  feed  herds  of  cattle,  furnishing  a  trade  in 
hides;  and  at  the  sources  of  the  southern  tributaries  are  ranges  of 
mountains,  which  yield  immense  treasures  of  diamonds  and  other  pre- 
cious stones. 

It  is  again  (as  in  the  case  of  the  country  at  the  foot  of  the  Andes) 
sad  to  think  that,  excluding  the  savage  tribes,  who  for  any  present 
purposes  of  good  may  be  ranked  with  the  beasts  that  perish,  this 
country  has  not  more  than  one  inhabitant  for  every  ten  square  miles  of 
land ;  that  it  is  almost  a  wilderness ;  that  being  capable,  as  it  is,  of 
yielding  support,  comfort,  and  luxury  to  many  millions  of  civilized 
people  who  have  superfluous  wants,  it  should  be  but  the  dwelling  place 
of  the  savage  and  the  wild  beast. 

Such  is  the  country  whose  destiny  and  the  development  of  whose 
resources  is  in  the  hands  of  Brazil,  It  seems  a  pity  that  she  should 
undertake  the  work  alone ;  she  is  not  strong  enough  ;  she  should  do 
what  we  are  not  too  proud  to  do,  stretch  out  her  hands  to  the  world  at 
large,  and  say,  "  Come  and  help  us  to  subdue  the  wilderness ;  here  are 
homes,  and  broad  lands,  and  protection  for  all  who  choose  to  come." 
She  should  break  up  her  steamboat  monopoly,  and  say  to  the  sea-faring 
and  commercial  people  of  the  world,  "  We  are  not  a  maritime  people ; 
we  have  no  skill  or  practice  in  steam  navigation ;  come  and  do  our 
carrying,  while  we  work  the  lands ;  bring  your  steamers  laden  with 
your  manufactures,  and  take  from  the  banks  of  our  rivers  the  rich  pro- 
ductions of  our  vast  regions."  With  such  a  policy,  and  taking  means 
to  preserve  her  nationality,  for  which  she  is  now  abundantly  strong,  I 


RESUME.  367 

have  no  hesitation  in  saying,  that  I  believe  in  fifty  years  Rio  Janeiro, 
without  losing  a  tittle  of  her  wealth  and  greatness,  will  be  but  a  village 
to  Para,  and  Para  will  be  what  New  Orleans  would  long  ago  have  been 
but  for  the  activity  of  New  York  and  her  own  fatal  climate,  the  greatest 
city  of  the  New  World ;  Santarem  will  be  St.  Louis,  and  Barra,  Cincin- 
nati. 

The  citizens  of  the  United  States  are,  of  all  foreign  people,  most 
interested  ia  the  free  navigation  of  the  Amazon.  We,  as  in  comparison 
with  other  foreigners,  would  reap  the  lion's  share  of  the  advantages  to 
be  derived  from  it.  We  would  fear  no  competition.  Our  geographical 
position,  the  winds  of  Heaven,  and  the  currents  of  the  ocean,  are  our 
potential  auxilaries.  Thanks  to  Maury's  investigations  of  the  winds 
and  currents,  we  know  that  a  chip  flung  into  the  sea  at  the  mouth  of 
the  Amazon  will  float  close  by  Cape  Hatteras.  We  know  that  ships 
sailing  from  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  for  whatever  port  of  the  world, 
are  forced  to  our  very  doors  by  the  SE.  and  NE.  trade  winds ;  that  New 
York  is  the  half  way  house  between  Para  and  Europe. 

We  are  now  Brazil's  best  customer  and  most  natural  ally.  President 
Aranha  knew  this.  At  a  dinner-jiarty  given  by  him  at  Barra,  his  first 
toast  was,  "To  the  nation  of  America  most  closely  allied,  with  Brazil — 
the  United  States."  And  he  frequently  expressed  to  me  his  strong 
desire  to  have  a  thousand  of  my  active  countrymen  to  help  him  to 
subdue  the  wilderness,  and  show  the  natives  how  to  work.  I  would  that 
all  Brazilians  were  influenced  by  similar  sentiments.  Then  would  the 
mighty  river,  now  endeared  to  me  by  association,  no  longer  roll  its 
sullen  waters  through  miles  of  unbroken  solitude ;  no  longer  would  the 
deep  forests  that  line  its  banks  aff'ord  but  a  shelter  for  the  serpent,  the 
tiger,  and  the  Indian ;  but,  furrowed  by  a  thousand  keels,  and  bearing 
upon  its  waters  the  mighty  wealth  that  civilization  and  science  would 
call  from  the  depths  of  those  dark  forests,  the  Amazon  would  "rejoice 
as  a  strong  man  to  run  a  race ;"  and  in  a  few  years  we  might,  without 
great  hyperbole,  or  doing  much  violence  to  fancy,  apply  to  this  river 
Byron's  beautiful  lines : 

"  The  casteled  erag  of  Drachenfels 
Frowns  o'er  Uie  wide  and  winding  Rhine, 

Whose  breast  of  waters  broadly  swells 
Between  the  banks  that  bear  the  vine ; 

And  hills  all  rich  with  blossomed  trees, 
And  fields  that  promise  corn  and  wine, 

With  scattered  cities  crowning  these, 
Whose  far  white  walls  along  them  shine." 


368  RESUME. 

Then  might  Brazil,  pointing  to  the  blossoming  wilderness,  the  well- 
cultivated  farm,  the  busy  city,  the  glancing  steamboat,  and  listening  to 
the  hum  of  the  voices  of  thousands  of  active  and  prosperous  men,  say, 
with  pride  and  truth :  "Thus  much  have  we  done  for  the  advancement 
of  civilization  and  the  happiness  of  the  human  race." 

In  making  out  this  report,  I  have  been  guided  by  the  letter  and  spirit 
of  my  instructions,  and  have  striven  to  present  a  clear  and  faithful  picture 
of  the  subjects  indicated  by  them.  These  were,  in  brief  terms,  the 
present  condition  of  the  country — its  productions  and  resources — the 
navigability  of  its  streams — its  capacities  for  trade  and  commerce — and 
its  future  prospects.  This  must  be  my  excuse  for  my  meagre  contribu- 
tions to  general  science.  More,  I  fear,  has  been  expected  in  this  way 
than  has  been  done;  yet  the  expedition  has  collected  some  valuable 
specimens  in  each  of  the  kingdoms  of  natural  history,  and  I  hope  to  obtain 
means  and  authority  to  have  them  properly  described  and  illustrated. 

T  have  mentioned  in  various  parts  of  my  report  the  names  of  persons 
who  have  assisted  me  by  counsel  or  information.  I  shall  close  it  with  the 
name  of  the  last,  the  ablest,  and  the  best.  Whatever  of  interest  and 
value  may  be  found  in  the  report,  is  maiuly  attributable  to  the  guiding 
judgment  and  cheering  heart  of  my  friend  and  kinsman,  M.  F.  Maury. 


APPENDIX. 


NOTES. 


The  elevations  due  to  the  atmospheric  pressure,  as  iudicated  by  the  barometer, 
are  extracted  from  tables  calculated,  after  the  complete  formula  of  La  Place, 
by  M.  F.  Delcros,  contained  in  a  volume  of  meteorological  tables  prepared  by 
Arnold  Guyot,  and  published  by  the  Smithsonian  Institution. 

These  due  the  indications  of  the  boiling-point  apparatus  are  taken  from  a  table 
in  the  same  volume,  calculated  by  Regnault,  from  his  "Tables  of  forces  of 
vapor,"  published  in  the  Annalcs  de  Physique  ct  de  Chimie,  t.  xiv,  p.  206. 

The  height  of  the  barometer  at  the  level  of  the  sea  is  assumed  at  30.00,  and 
the  temperature  of  the  air  at  65°  Fah. 

I  have  added  a  column  of  heights,  measured  with  the  barometer  by  Don  Ma- 
riano Eivero,  at  jjlaces  where  they  compare  with  mine. 

At  the  pass  of  Antarangra  we  took  our  obsei-vations  on  the  summit  of  a  hill 
about  two  hundred  feet  above  the  road  at  its  highest  point. 

Morococha  is  situated  near  the  line  of  perpetual  snow,  on  the  eastern  slope  of 
the  western  chain  of  the  Andes. 

Tingo  Maria  is  the  place  of  embarcation  on  the  Huallaga.  The  distance  from 
Callao  to  this  point,  by  our  route,  is  337  miles.  The  distance  hence  to  the  At- 
lantic is  3,662.  If  we  add  to  these  sums  the  90  miles  of  travel  from  Tarma  to 
Fort  San  Eamon  and  back,  with  the  626  from  the  mouth  of  the  Ucayali  to 
Sarayacu  and  back,  we  shall  have  the  whole  distance  travelled  over— 4,715  miles. 


24 


370 


APPENDIX. 


TABLE  OF  APPROXIMATE  HEIGHTS  AND   DISTANCES  FROM 
CALLAO  TO  THE  ATLANTIC. 


Names  of  places. 

u 

s 

Q 

0^ 

c 

s 

■g 

u 
'c 

a 

S 

1 
o 

e 

e 

"So 
'S 

B 

30.000 
29.528 
28.580 
27.568 
25.574 
23.027 
23.027 
20.843 
20.843 

212 

65 
75 
61 
57 
58 
50 
50 
59 
59 
33 
49 
43 
43 
46 
40 
36 
36 
55 
55 
43 
61 
60 
68 
76 

'■37'" 
32 
40 
45 
54 
62 
65 
67 
74 
58 
71 
74 
76 
75 
77 
80 
84 
82 
85 
74 

"ek" 

84 
82 
76 
78 
81 
80 
76 
78 
80 
81 

6 
12 
10 
16 
15 
13 
13 

476 

1.346 

2,337 

4.452 

7.  .306 

7^380 

10.200 

lOl  J  28 

12,898 

14.300 

16.044 

16.199 

14:409 

12.786 

11,654 

11. 825 

9;  738 

9.770 

8,512 

7.091 

5.687 

3;i» 

2,605 

2.953 

10,539 

12.94y 

13.171 

13.602 

11.5»2 

81551 

5.946 

5,626 

7,518 

6.540 

3,910 

3,421 

2,944 

2,260 

1..579 

1.269 

1.109 

'846 

490 

434 

537 

2,aV2 

1.947 

1,890 

1.831 

1.740 

1.475 

1.212 

9.'i9 

846 

3.n 

320 

.505 

Do 

198.25 

10. -232 

Do 

193.25 
188.3 

9 
3 
3 

Lower  edge  of  snow  on  western  tlope... 

17.836 
16.730 
16.730 
17.700 

15.758 

Do 

182.5 

Morooocha 

4 
9 
12 

188.5 

i9.5J2 
19.542 
21.144 
21.144 
21.972 
23.292 
24.482 
26.804 
27.406 
27.406 

12.270 

Do 

190.2 

18 

10.092 

Do 

193.9 

Paica 

11 
12 

4 
12 

6 

Do 

206.5 

192.5 

188.2 

187.8 

186.7 

190.7 

196.1 

200.9 

201.5 

198 

199.8 

204.7 

20.1.6 

206.5 

207.8 

209.1 

209.7 

210 

210.5 

211.2 

211.3 

211.1 

208.2 

208.4 

208.5 

208.6 

208.8 

209.3 

209.8 

210.3 

210.5 

211.5 

15 

18 

18 

17 

12 

18 

35 

8 

6 

12 

10 

8 

20 

10 

174 

58 

58 

87 

220 

353 

197 

707 

131 

60 

16S 

.10 

14 

104 

209 

220 

759 

13.330 

14.279 

San  lUfael 

8.791 

6.284 

Chullqui 

Cashi 

Atajo 

Tocaehc 

liUpiina 

Sta.  (Jruz 

Nauta 

Pebas 

E(»as 

River  B;ink 

Do 

Do 

Moiiili  oi  Ma/lL'ira 

Villa  N'ov.i 

Para 

29.708 

Sea 

93 
313 

210.3 

82 

868 

APPENDIX. 


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to  C^  CD  CO  -H         I— t 


CDtpC0r^t-^-0000n005Cl^OOOr-I.H 


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378 


APPENDIX. 


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d  rsR  «  — 


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APPENDIX. 


379 


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380 


APPENDIX. 


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articularly  dear  at  ni 
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382 


APPENDIX. 


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APPENDIX. 


383 


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384 


APPEXDIX. 


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APPENDIX. 


385 


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66 cccccoo 


25 


386 


APPENDIX. 


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APPENDIX. 


387 


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ADDENDUM.  397 


ADDENDUM. 

Since  I  had  the  honor  of  submitting  the  foregoing  report,  events 
concerning  the  political  and  social  condition  of  the  countries  drained  by 
the  Amazon  and  its  tributaries  have  occurred,  which  make  it  highly 
expedient  and  proper,  for  the  better  information  of  the  government  and 
people  of  this  country,  that  I  should  make  this  addendum. 

My  report,  which  sets  forth  the  extreme  fertility  of  the  Amazonian 
regions,  their  varied  and  rich  natural  productions,  and  the  salubrity  of 
the  climate,  joined  to  the  report  of  discoveries  of  gold  in  the  sands  of 
the  Santiago  and  Napo,  and  in  the  vallies  of  Carabaya,  has  excited 
great  attention ;  and  a  crowd  of  emigrants  is  already  flocking  into 
those  parts.  My  friend  and  companion  Ijurra,  in  company  with  a 
German  named  Shiitz,  has  carried  out,  under  the  auspices,  and  at  the 
expense,  of  the  Peruvian  government,  a  colony  of  about  two  hundred 
Germans  and  Peruvians.  Another  com.pany  nearly  as  large,  consisting 
of  Peruvians  and  North  Americans,  has  followed,  under  the  guidance  of 
a  Peruvian  named  Montesa ;  and  lately  a  ship  has  arrived  from  Australia, 
bringing  out  a  hundred  emigants,  bound  to  the  gold  regions.  This  ship, 
the  "Lancaster,"  reports  that  great  excitement  exists  in  Australia  re- 
garding the  Peruvian  mines ;  that  her  passenger  list  was  filled  in  less 
than  twenty-four  hours  after  being  advertised ;  and  that  there  will  be 
an  immense  emigration  to  Peru  from  Australia  within  the  next  three  or 
four  months.  A  slip  from  the  Lima  "Foreign  News"  of  March  25, 
1854,  says: 

"The  stories  of  25-pound  lumps  found  on  the  x\mazon  have  had  a 
similar  effect  in  Australia  to  the  first  news  received  in  the  United  States 
of  the  discovery  of  gold  in  California.  It  is  difiicult  to  judge  correctly, 
from  so  many  different  reports,  the  probable  number  that  will  soon 
arrive  here.  Some  say  5,000 ;  others  30,000 ;  but  we  imagine  the 
former  to  be  nearer  the  mark.  Many  of  them  no  doubt  will  be  greatly 
disappointed.  They  will  an-ive  here  expecting  at  least  to  find  a  good 
road  opened  to  the  reported  mines ;  but  in  place  of  that  they  will  learn — 
so  little  interest  is  here  taken  in  the  matter — that  not  a  single  river  has 
been  bridged,  nor  a  single  mountain-trail  been  improved.  Since  writing 
the  above,  we  have  learned  that  a  party  of  natives  have,  for  some  time 
past,  been  working  on  the  trail  beyond  Moyobamba.  As  we  understand 
there  is  a  good  mule-road  from  the  coast  to  that  place,  parties  will 
27 


398  ADDENDUM.  * 

probably  experience  nft  difGculties  in  going  clear  tbrougli  to  the  bead- 
waters." 

Dr.  Wbitraore,  an  American,  has  carried  up  two  small  steamers  for 
;the  Peruvian  government,  to  be  used  in  the  exploration  and  survey  of 
the  Peruvian  tributaries  of  the  Amazon.  American  engineers,  firemen, 
and  Tuechaiiics,  with  one  or  two  adventurers,  went  out  in  them. 

Here,  then,  v/e  have,  and  that,  too,  upon  no  contemptible  scale,  the 
commencement  of  the  settlement  of  that  great  country.  Whether  the 
settlers  find  gold  or  not,  of  which  I  have  no  doubt,  though  I  cannot 
endorse  the  reports  of  its  being  found  in  25-pound  lumps,  and  I  think 
that  its  collection  will  be  attended  with  great  exposure,  privation,  and 
hardship,  I  am  satisfied  that  they  will  never  come  away.  The  few 
things  there  necessary  for  the  maintenance  of  a  comfortable  life,  the 
little  labor  required  to  obtain  those  necessaries,  the  delicious  and  rather 
enervating  climate,  and  the  absence  of  all  the  restraints  that  are  found 
tedious  and  iiksome  to  the  natural  man  amid  the  refinements  of  civili- 
zation, all  operate  with  a  powerful  force  to  keep  them  there ;  and  I 
think  that,  from  this  time  forth,  population,  civilization,  and  prosperity 
will  march  with  an  ever  forward  step  over  those  wild  domains. 

I  have  been  always  cautious  in  my  report  in  speaking  of  the  salubrity 
of  that  country ;  and  I  feared  that,  even  only  in  so  far  as  I  had  gone  in 
this  respect,  my  account  should  be  disbelieved  by  many;  but  hear  what 
Wallace,  an  English  naturalist,  who  was  in  the  country  at  the  same 
time  that  I  was,  and  has  since  published  a  narrative  of  his  sojourn  there, 
says  (p.  16)  upon  this  point: 

"The  climate,  so  far  as  we  have  yet  experienced,  was  delightful.  The 
thermometer  did  not  rise  above  87  in  the  afternoon,  nor  sink  below  74° 
during  the  night.  The  mornings  and  evenings  were  most  agreeably 
cool ;  and  we  had  generally  a  shower  and  a  fine  breeze  in  the  afternoon, 
which  was  very  refreshing,  and  purified  the  air.  On  moonlight  evenings, 
till  8  o'clock,  ladies  walk  about  the  streets  and  suburbs  without  any 
head-dress,  and  in  ball-room  attire  ;  and  the  Brazilians  in  their  roginhas 
sit  outside  their  houses,  bare-headed,  and  in  their  shirt  sleeves,  till  9  or 
10  o'clock,  quite  unmindful  of  the  night  airs  and  heavy  dews  of  the 
tropics,  which  wc  have  been  accustomed  to  consider  so  deadly." 

lie  is  speaking  of  the  climate  at  Par^.  Again  he  says,  (p.  429 :) 
"  Had  I  only  judged  of  the  climate  of  Par^  from  my  first  residence  of 
a  year,  I  might  be  thought  to  have  been  impressed  by  the  novelty  of 
the  tropical  clinrate ;  but  on  my  return  from  a  three  years  sojourn  on 
the  upper  Amazon  and  Rio  Negro,  I  was  equally  struck  with  the  won- 
derful freshness  and  brilliancy  of  the  atmosphere,  and  the  baimy  mild- 


ADDENDUM.  399 

ness  of  the  evenings,  wliicli  are  certainly  not  equalled  in  any  other  part 
I  have  visited." 

At  Santarem,  (p.  157)  he  says:  "The  constant  exercise,  pure  air, 
and  good  living,  notwithstanding  the  intense  heat,  kept  us  in  the  most 
perfect  health,  and  I  have  never,  altogether,  enjoyed  myself  so  much." 

Page  80.  "In  the  districts  we  passed  through,  sugar,  cotton,  cofiee, 
and  rice  might  be  grown  in  any  quantity,  and  of  the  finest  quality.  The 
navigation  is  always  safe  and  uniaterrupted,  and  the  whole  county  is  so 
intersected  by  Igarai^es  and  rivers,  that  every  estate  has  water  carriage 
for  its  productions.  But  the  indolent  disposition  of  the  people,  and  the 
scarcity  of  labor,  will  prevent  the  capabilities  of  this  fine  couatry  from 
being  developed  till  European  or  North  American  colonies  are  formed. 
There  is  no  country  in  the  world  where  people  can  produce  for 
themselves  so  many  of  the  necessaries  and  luxuries  of  life ;  Indian  corn, 
rice,  mandioca,  sugar,  cofiee,  cotton,  beef,  poultry,  and  pork;  with  oranges, 
bananas,  and  abundance  of  other  fruits  and  vegetables,  thrive  with  little 
care.  With  these  articles  in  abundance,  a  house  of  wood,  calabashes, 
cups  and  pottery  of  the  country,  they  may  live  in  plenty,  without  a 
single  exotic  production.  And  then  what  advantages  there  are  in  a 
country  where  there  is  no  stoppage  of  agricultural  productions  during 
winter,  but  where  crops  may  be  had,  and  poultry  may  be  reared,  all  the 
year  round ;  where  the  least  possible  amount  of  clothing  is  the  most 
comfortable,  and  where  a  hundred  little  necessaries  of  a  cold  region  are 
altogether  superfluous.  With  regard  to  the  climate,  I  have  said  enough 
already;  and  I  repeat,  that  a  man  can  work  as  well  here  as  in  the  hot  sum- 
mer mouths  in  England,  and  that  if  he  will  only  work  three  hours  in  the 
morning  and  three  in  the  evening,  he  will  produce  more  of  the  neces- 
saries and  comforts  of  life,  than  by  12  hours  daily  labor  at  home." 

(P.  334.)  "It  is  a  vulgar  error,  copied  and  reported  from  one  book 
to  another,  that,  in  the  tropics,  the  luxuriance  of  the  vegetation  over- 
powers tbe  eflbrts  of  man.  Just  the  reverse  is  the  case  ;  nature  and  the 
climate  are  nowhere  so  favorable  to  the  laborer,  and  I  fearlessly  assert, 
that  here  the  *  primeval'  forest  can  be  converted  into  rich  pasture  and 
meadow  lands,  into  cultivated  fields,  gardens,  and  orchards,  containing 
every  variety  of  produce,  with  half  the  labor,  and  Avhat  is  of  more  impor- 
tance, in  less  than  half  the  time  that  would  be  required  at  home,  even 
though  there  we  had  clear  instead  of  forest  ground  to  commence  upon." 

This  is  the  testimony  of  a  man  who  sufiered  great  hardships  in  the 
pursuit  of  science,  amid  the  rapids  and  falls  of  the  rivers  Negro  and 
Uapes — who  was  beset  with  the  chills  and  fever,  incident  to  the  great 
labor  and  exposure  necessary  in  passing  those  rapids  in  an  open  boat — 


400  ADDENDUM. 

who  lust  his  bruthiT  of  yollow  ft-ver  at  Para,  and  who  finally  luiJ  tli« 
ship  in  which  ho  had  taken  passage  to  Kiighind,  with  all  his  c<»Il<TtiunR, 
burned  under  him  on  the  brf»ad  Atlantic. 

lie  cannot  bo  suppf>scd  to  have  J»ocn  things  "  coulour  de  nwc,"  ..r  to 
be  a  witness  with  a  favorable  bias ;  and  I  tjucft*'  him  in  order  to  support 
my  own  opinion  that  the  climate  is  good,  the  country  generally 
healthy,  and  that  few  who  undertake  to  settle  there  will  be  willing  to 
come  away. 

With  the  fart  before  us  that  many  persons  have  gone  even  by  the 
tedious,  ditlicult,  and  dangerous  passes  of  the  Cordillera,  to  settle  in  the 
Amazonian  basin,  and  that,  to  my  personal  knowledge,  raaDv  more  are 
desirous  to  go,  the  action  of  the  Itra/ilian  government  in  closing  the 
lower  waters  of  that  river,  and  forbidding  access,  at  least  for  any  pur- 
poses of  trade  or  exploration,  to  the  countries  drained  by  the  tributaries 
of  the  Amazon  belonging  to  the  Spanish  American  republics,  becomes 
a  matter  of  grave  importance  to  the  world  at  large,  and  induces  a  dis- 
position to  scrutinize  with  severity  her  right  to  do  so. 

1  have  too  little  acquaintance  with  the  "jus  gentium"  lo  attempt  to 
argue  the  qtiestion ;  nor  is  it  my  province  to  do  s<.>;  but  I  believe  it  to 
be  clearly  my  duty  to  place  all  the  facts  and  circumstances  of  the  case 
l>efore  this  government  and  people,  that  they  m.iy  take  the  matter  into 
consideration,  and  judge  for  themselves. 

My  own  opinion  is,  that  Brazil  herself  doubted  this  right,  or  else 
why  hhuuld  she  have  sent  ambassadors  to  the  S]>anish  American  re- 
publics for  the  purpose  of  making  exclusive  treaties  of  navigation  with 
them  ?  She  did  not  need  these  treaties,  for  I  know  that  her  vess*'ls 
passed  freely,  enjoying,  without  let  or  hinderance,  all  the  privileges  that 
treaty  could  give,  and  traded  upon  any  tributaries  of  the  Amazon  where 
they  pi'  a-t'd,  and  that  Peru  and  Bolivia  were  glad  to  have  them  do 
this,  though  she  denied  the  same  privileges  to  them  on  the  Brazilian 
Amazoti.  Indeed,  a  writt'r  in  the  government  paper  at  Kio  dc  Janein>, 
and  one  apparently  wlio  "spoke  by  the  card,"  declared  that  the  principal 
r.bject  in  theft*;  tr«ati»*s  was  the  keeping  of  the  "/><>«/<•  yardre.s"'  out  of 
the  Amazon.  Let  us  .see  how  they  succeeded.  The  Chevalier  Da  Ponte 
Uibeiro  was  sent  by  the  Emperor  to  Lima  for  the  pur|K>se  of  making  the 
treaty  with  Peru.  He  wan  an  able  and  astute  negotiator,  but,  unfor- 
tunately for  his  object,  he  had  the  hawk-eye  of  the  best-trained,  most 
cxperience<l,  and  probably  in  an  ollicial  w  use,  ablest  diplomat  of  the 
United  States  ujwn  him.  Clay  threw  no  obstacles  in  his  way ;  he  per- 
mitted him  to  make  his  treaty,  (by  whicli  iVru  give  to  Brazil  the  right 
to  navigate  her  interior  wat<*rs.)  and  then   immediately  demanded  of 


ADDENDUM.  401 

the  Penivian  government  the  fulfilment  of  the  obligations  of  a  treaty 
which  that  government  had  just  concluded  ■with  him,  by  which  it  was 
bound  to  give  to  the  citizens  of  the  United  Slates  all  the  rights  and 
privileges  which  it  should  hereafter  grant  to  those  of  the  most  favored 
nation,  and  by  which  also  it  guaranteed  to  American  citizens  the  right 
to  "frequent  with  vessels  all  the  coasts,  ports,  and  places^  at  which 
foreign  commerce  is  or  may  be  permitted." 

The  case  was  too  strong  to  admit  of  question.  Tirado,  the  Peruvian 
minister,  immediately  admitted  the  justice  of  the  claim,  and  his  gov- 
ernment issued  a  decree  throwing  open  to  us  the  same  ports  that  she 
had  thrown  open  to  Brazil.  v 

Cavalcanti,  the  Brazilian  minister  in  Peru,  protested  earnestly  against 
this  decree,  but  was  told  that  Peru  must  perform  her  treaty  stipulations 
as  well  with  the  United  States  and  with  England  as  with  Brazil. 

I  supposed  that  Clay  had  completely  and  finally  triumphed ;  but  a 
remarkable  change,  for  which  I  am  entirely  unable  to  account,  (however 
much  I  may  suspect,)  suddenly  and  unexpectedly  took  place  in  the 
aspect  of  the  aff"air.  The  wise,  liberal,  and  enlightened  Tirado  retires 
from  the  Bureau  of  Foreign  Affairs,  and  is  succeeded  in  that  office  by 
Don  Jose  Gregorio  Paz  Soldan,  who  adopts  an  entirely  different  pohcy  ; 
declares  that  the  treaty  of  navigation  concluded  with  Brazil  on  the  23d 
of  October,  1851,  was  a  special  one  regarding  the  interior  waters  of  the 
republic,  and  induces  the  President  to  issue  a  decree  explanatory  of  that 
of  April  15th,  1852,  which  virtually  repeals  the  2nd  article  of  that 
decree,  which  2nd  article  gives  to  our  citizens  and  vessels  the  same 
rights  in  the  Peruvian  waters  of  the  Amazon  that  are  given  to  the 
subjects  and  vessels  of  Brazil  by  the  treaty  of  23d  of  October,  1851. 

Clay  makes  a  masterly  reply  to  the  reasonings  of  Paz  Soldan  upon 
the  subject — protests  against  the  action  of  the  Peruvian  government — 
and  declares  that  "  his  government  will  not  be  disposed  to  regard  such 
a  course  as  a  proof  of  the  desire  that  Peru  has  manifested  to  preserve 
friendly  relations  between  this  republic  and  that  of  the  United  States." 

Thus  has  Peru,  at  the  instance  of  the  Brazilian  government,  taken  a 
step  backward,  and  sought  to  again  throw  over  herself  the  dark  mantle 
of  exclusiveness,  thereby  shutting  out  the  improvement  and  advantages 
that  would  accrue  to  her  from  intercourse  with  the  great  commercial 
nations  of  the  earth. 

But  this  exclusive  policy  does  not  at  all  affect  the  question  of  the 
right  of  Brazil  to  close  the  Amazon.  * 

Miguel  Maria  Lisboa  was  instructed  by  Brazil  to  make  a  treaty  with 
Bolivia,  similar  to  the  one  made  by  Da  Ponte  with  Peru,  but  he  entirely 


4t9  .AsmwDiw. 

failed  ia  his  object.  The  Bolivian  governra^i  iamed  Ibe  following 
de«Tt'e,  dat*f<l  "  La  Paz,  27th  January,  1853  :" 

"  Wherca«s  l.st,  the  eastern  anil  wcj-tern  parts  of  the  rq»ublic,  en- 
closing vast  territories  of  extraordinary  fertility,  intersected  by  navi- 
gable rivers  flowing  to  tlie  Amazon  and  to  the  La  Plata,  otTers  the  most 
natural  channels  for  the  commerce,  population,  and  civilization  of  these 
di>lri<-ts ; 

"  Wherea<«,  2d,  the  navigation  of  these  rivers  is  the  most  efficacious 
and  Certain  means  of  developing  the  riehes  of  this  territory,  by  placing 
it  in  conimutiicution  with  the  exterior,  and  applying  to  its  waters  the 
fruitful  principle  of  free  navigation,  as  useful  to  the  interests  of  the 
republic  as  to  those  of  the  world  ; 

"  Whereas,  3d,  by  the  law  of  nature  and  of  -nations,  confirmed  by 
the  conventions  of  modern  Europe,  and  applied  in  the  New  World  to 
the  navigation  of  the  Mississippi,  Bolivia,  as  owner  of  tlje  I'ilcomayo, 
of  the  tributaries  and  the  greater  j^art  of  the  Madeira,  of  the  left  shore 
of  tlie  Itenes  from  its  junction  with  the  Sarave  to  its  emptying  into  the 

Mamord,  of  the  western  bank  of  the  Paraguay  to  the  Marco  del  I , 

as  fiir  as  26°  64'  of  south  latitude,  and  of  the  greater  part  and  the  lefl 
shore  of  the  Bermejo,  has  the  rigiit  to  navigate  these  rivers  from  the 
point  in  her  territory  in  which  lliey  may  be  susceptible  of  it  to  the  sea, 
without  any  power  being  able  to  arrogate  to  itself  the  eiclusive  sover- 
eignty over  the  Amazon  and  La  Plata ; 

''  Whereas,  4th,  this  navigation  cannot  be  eflccted  without  the  neces- 
sary ports  are  afforded  for  trade ; 

"  Therefore,  be  it  decreed  : 

"Art.  1.  The  Bolivian  government  declares  free  to  the  commerce 
and  mercantile  navigation  of  all  the  nations  of  the  globe  the  waters  of 
the  navigable  rivers  which,  flowing  through  the  territory  of  this  nation, 
empty  into  the  Amazon  and  Paraguay. 

"Art.  2.  The  following  are  declared  free  jKtrts,  open  to  the  traflic 
and  navigation  of  all  vessels  of  commerce,  whatever  may  l>e  their  flag, 
destination,  or  tonnage : 

"  In  the  river  Mamore — Exalta<-ion,  Trinidad,  and  lyonto. 

"  In  the  Beni — Kencnavaque,  Muchanis,  and  Mag<lalena. 

"In  the  Piray— Cuatro,  Ojo«. 

"  In  till-  Cliap.ire — Coni  and  Cljim<>re,  tributarii-s  of  the  Mainori*, 
the  pointa  of  Anunta,  Coni,  and  Chimoro. 

it  In  the  rivers  Mapiri  and  Coroico,  tributaries  of  the  Beni,  the  points 
of  (luanay  and  Coroico. 

"  In  the  Pilcomayo-^thc  port  of  Magrinos,  on  the  east  coast  of  the 
Paraguay,  La  Bahia  Negra,  and  the  point  of  lk>rbon. 


ADDENDUM.  403 

"In  the  Bermejo — the  point  situated  in  21°  30'  south  latitude,  at 
which  embarked,  in  1846,  the  national  engineers  Ondarza  and  Mujia. 

"  Art.  3.  The  vessels  of  war  of  friendly  nations  will  also  be  per- 
mitted to  visit  these  ports. 

"  Art.  4.  The  government  of  Bolivia,  availing  itself  of  the  unques- 
tionable lights  which  the  nation  has  to  navigate  these  rivers  as  far  as 
the  Atlantic,  invites  all  the  nations  of  the  earth  to  navigate  them,  and 
promises — 

"  1st.  To  donate  in  the  Bolivian  territory,  for  the  purposes  which  the 
law  allows,  tracts  of  land  from  one  league  to  twelve  leagues  square,  to 
the  individuals  or  companies  who,  sailing  from  the  Atlantic,  shall  arrive 
at  any  one  of  the  points  declared  to  be  ports  of  entry,  and  may  wish 
to  found  near  them  agricultural  or  industrial  establishments. 

"2d.  To  guaranty  the  reward  of  ten  thousand  dollars  ($10,000)  to 
the  first  steamer  which,  through  the  La  Plata  or  Amazon,  may  arrive 
at  either  of  the  above  mentioned  points. 

"3d.  To  declare  free  the  river  exportation  of  the  products  of  the 
earth,  and  of  the  national  industry. 

"4th.  In  due  time  there  will  be  established  and  regulated  at  the 
above-mentioned  points,  where  it  may  be  necessary,  custom-houses  for 
the  loading  and  unloading  of  merchandise,  the  government  seeing  that 
the  charges  for  the  use  of  these  custom-houses  may  be  as  moderate  as 
possible. 

"  5th.  This  decree  will  be  submitted  for  the  examination  and  ap- 
proval of  Congress  on  their  next  meeting. 

"6th.  The  Minister  of  State,  in  the  office  of  foreign  relations,  is 
charged  with  its  fulfilment,  by  circulating  it  and  communicating  it  to 
all  whom  it  may  concern. 

"  Given  in  the  Palace  of  the  Supreme  Government,  in  the  place  of 
Ayacucho,  2Yth  of  January,  1853,  44th  of  independence,  and  4th 
of  liberty.  "MANUEL  ISIDORO  BELZU. 

"RAFAEL  BUSTILLO. 

'•  Minister  of  Foreign  Relations. 
A  certified  copy:  " AM ARO  ALVAREZ, 

'' El  Official  Mayorr 

Lisboa  also  failed  in  Ecuador.  Here  is  a  copy  of  a  lajv  passed  by  the 
Congress  of  Ecuador,  on  the  26th  of  November  1853  : 

"  To  the  Senate  and  House  of  Representatives  of  Ecuador,  in  Congress 

assembled. 

"  Whereas  it  is  a  necessary  measure  to  open  to  foreign  trade  the 
Amazon  and  all  the  Ecuadorian  rivers  which  flow  into  it ;  and  whereas, 


40A  AmiSBUM. 

in  order  to  attract  navigation  and  comuK^roo,  we  should  hold  out  some 
privili'gi'K  and  htiinulaiits  to  immigrants  intending  to  trade  on  the  said 
rivers :  Therefore  we  decree — 

"1.  That  the  rivers  Cliinchipes,  Santinjjo,  Morona,  Pastnsa,  Tipfre, 
Curarny,  Naucuna,  Napo,  Putumayo,  and  other  streams  flowing'  into 
the  Amazon,  are  dec!are<i  of  free  navigation,  including  that  part  of  the 
last  named  river  which  belongs  to  Ecuador. 

**'2.  Vessels  navigating  the  said  rivers,  to  whatever  nation  they 
belong,  will  be  free  during  twenty  years  from  paying  any  kind  of  tax, 
and  gixxls  imported  during  the  same  time  will  also  be  admitted  duty  free. 
"  3.  The  public  authorities  of  Napo,  or  of  any  other  canton  estab- 
lished now,  or  which  may  be  established  hereafter,  are  authorized  to 
concede  thirty  cuodras  of  land  to  foreign  or  Ecuadorian  families,  on  con- 
dition that  this  land  be  cultivated  for  the  term  of  five  years  from  the 
date  thereof,  under  the  penalty  of  forfeiting  the  same  if  this  condition 
is  not  accomplished.  A  larger  extent  of  land  may  bo  obtained,  on  the 
recipient  giving  a  bond  for  payment  twelve  and  a  half  years  after,  if  a 
foreigner,  and  twenty-five  years  after  if  an  Ecuadorian,  «kc. 

"  4.  The  present  inhabitants  of  Napo,  and  along  the  other  Ecuadorian 
rivers  which  Jlow  into  the  Amazon,  will  have  the  same  privileges  as 
hereinbefore  mentioned,  the  preference  in  the  selection  of  the  land 
being  given  to  them,  as  well  as  a  perfect  and  inalienable  title  to  the 
possession  of  the  land  which  they  now  o«"cupy. 

"  Given  in  Quito,  capital  of  the  republic,  the  20th  of  November,  1853. 
"MANUEL  BUSTAMENTE, 

J' resident  of  I  he  Senatr. 
"  NICHOLAS  ESriNOSA, 

President  of  the  J  louse  of  Representatives, 
"JOSE  M.  MESTANZA, 

Secretary  of  the  Senate. 
"FliANCIS  J.  MONTALVO, 

Secretary  of  the  House  of  Representatives. 
**  Government  Uouse  in  Quito,  capital  of  the  republic,  20th  of  No- 
vember, 1853. 

"JOSEMAkIA  UKHINA. 
•  MARCOS  ESriNEL, 
Jim  liter  of  the  Interior  awl  Forci(fn  Ri  hi  ions. 
"  Certified  : 

Camilo  I'oncb." 
He  succeeded   in   making  an  o\rlii^ive  tri'.ity    with  tin- <x<utive  au- 
thorities of  New  Granada,  but   it  is  believed  that  the  Congress  of  tliat 
Republic  will  not  ratify  that  treaty.     I  have  the  copy  of  a  letter  from 


ADDENDUM.  405 

an  eminent  statesman  of  New  Granada,  to  an  American  diplomatic 
functionary,  of  date  the  5th  of  January  1854,  of  which  the  following  is 
a  translation : 

"  I  said  to  Don  Andres  Bello  by  letter  of  the  3d  of  December : 

" is  of  opinion,    and   his   government  also,   that   the   great 

American  rivers,  whose  navigation  is  of  interest  to  various  nations,  ought 
to  be  considered  as  prolongations  of  the  sea,  open  to  all  the  world,  by 
natural  right,  and  without  the  necessity  of  special  treaty  stipulations, 
the  Amazon  being  in  this  category. 

"How  far  will  this  doctrine,  which  modifies  substantially  the  prin- 
ciples set  forth  by  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  be  acceptable  ? 

"He  replied  to  me  on  the  14th,  In  the  question  of  the  freedom  of 
the  Amazon  and  its  tributary  rivers,  I  coincide  with  the  opinion  of 

to  which  you  refer.     The  high  station  and  importance,  tending 

to  the  general  benefit,  which  commerce  has  taken  in  international  affairs, 
and  which  cannot  fail  to  be  higher  and  greater  every  day,  ought  to  lead 
to  modifications  in  the  doctrines  of  international  law,  which  you  know 
is  not  a  stationary  or  stereotyped  science.  It  has  always  lent  itself  to 
the  variable  exigencies  of  civilization;  and  being  progressive,  it  will 
accept  new  principles,  or,  r?tlier,  new  applications  of  old  principles  to 
present  circumstances ;  faithful  to  its  primitive  intention  of  moderating 
the  antagonism  of  nationalities ;  of  overthrowing  the  barriers  of  a  too 
exclusive  spirit ;  of  embodying  the  Christian  sentiment  in  international 
relations  ;  and  of  fraternizing  the  people. 

"  '  I  would  undertake  with  pleasure  a  new  exposition  of  the  laws  of  na- 
tions in  this  relation,  but  I  have  not  time.  Mors  atris  circumvolat  alls. 
Others  with  greater  knowledge  and  strength,  will  take  charge  of  this 
beautiful  subject.' 

"  I  have  a  real  pleasure  in  transcribing  for  you  the  opinion  of  the  patri- 
arch of  South  American  literature — the  publicist,  venerated  amongst  us 
for  his  knowledge  and  his  virtues — an  opinion  so  much  in  accordance 
with  ours,  and  which,  I  have  no  doubt,  will  have  its  weight  in  the 
decision  of  the  Granadian  Congress,  against  the  Brazilian  treaty  of 
navigation  lately  concluded  at  Bogota,  and  disapproved  by  the  general 
sentiment  of  my  countrymen." 

We  have  now  the  facts  of  the  case  before  us.  Of  the  five  Spanish 
American  republics  who  own  tributaries  of  the  Amazon,  two  have  made 
exclusive  treaties  with  Brazil  regarding  their  navigation,  and  I  have 
shown  that  there  is  a  prospect  that  the  legislative  power  of  one  of  them 
(New  Granada)  will  not  ratify  the  treaty  ;  of  the  action  of  one,  (Vene- 
zuela,) I  know  nothing,  though  I  believe  that,  by  general  law,  the  navi- 


406  ADDEXDl'M. 

• 

gation  of  all  of  her  rivers  is  free.  Two  (Bolina  niul  Ecuador)  hare 
refuskHl  to  make  an  exclusive  treaty  with  Hrazil ;  have  issued  decree* 
di-clarinjT  their  tributaries  of  the  Amazon  opn  to  the  navipfntion  and 
comiuerce  of  the  world,  and  are  strotehing  out  their  hands  asking  foreign 
aid  for  the  development  of  the  grt-at  ri-sourees  of  their  Tcspeclivo  coun- 
tries. The  question  eomcs  up,  has  Hrazil  the  right,  under  the  eircum- 
Ptances,  to  clo^c  the  highway  to  the  navigable  waters  of  the«<^  roiuitries, 
and  thus  deny  them  what  they  conceive  to  be  their  rights  ? 

It  hits  U'en  argued  that  this  is  no  businefvs  of  ours  ;  that  it  Ix-longs  to 
tliose  Spanish  American  republics  to  obtain  from  Brazil  th<j  right  of 
way  to  and  from  their  ports  as  wo  did  from  Franco  and  Spain  in  the 
case  of  the  Mississippi ;  but  the  argument  is  not  a  good  one ;  it  leads  to 
no  practical  results;  the  cases  are  not  parallel.  We  were,  from  the  first, 
a  maritime  and  commercial  people.  We  had  ships  and  seamen;  and 
an  outlet  for  the  productions  of  the  Mississippi  valley  was  of  so  vital 
inij)ortance  to  us  as  to  make  us  ready,  if  necessary,  to  go  to  war  with 
France  on  that  question.  With  the  Spanish  American  republics,  on 
the  contrary,  "  I^  jeu  n'en  vaut  pas  la  chandolle."  They  have  no  shipfl 
or  seamen,  and  no  means  of  making  either,  and  a  war  Iwtween  them 
•nd  the  powerful  empire  of  Brazil  would  be  hopeless.  The  navigation 
of  tlie  Amazon,  restricted  to  themselves  alone,  would  be  valueless  to 
them.  We  have  a  greater  interest  in  the  matter;  for,  although  the 
benefit  derived  from  trade  and  an  exchange  of  commodities  is  reciprocal, 
yet  we  should  have  (on  account  of  our  geographical  position  witli  regard 
to  the  mouth  of  the  Amazon,  and  our  skill  in  the  construction  and  man> 
agement  of  the  river  steambi^at)  nearly  all  the  carrying  trade.  They 
have  done  all  they  could.  Desirous  to  develop  the  resources  of  their 
country,  and  to  improve  their  social  condition,  and  knowing  that  they 

can  do  nothing  of  themselves  in  the  wav  of  trade  and  commerce,  thev 

*-  •  • 

hold  out  their  hands  to  us;  they  throw  open  their  ports  to  the  com- 
merce of  the  world ;  and  they  invite  all  people  to  come,  offering  as 
inducements,  privileges,  lands,  and  money.  I  think,  then,  it  K'longs 
peculiarly  to  us  to  consider  whether  they  have  the  right  to  give  the 
invitation,  and  wo  the  right  to  accept  it 

I>et  us  suppose  a  case  in  illustration  of  this,  Suppo-^e  ilcit  the  St. 
Lawrence  were  navigable  from  the  sea  to  the  lakes ;  and  that  wo 
were  to  invito  the  nations  of  Europe  to  a  free  trade  with  our  |>orts  of 
Buffalo,  Cleveland,  and  Detroit,  offering  them  money,  grants  of  lands, 
and  great  advantages  if  they  should  come.  It  seems  to  me  that  it  would 
be  unwise  and  improj>er  in  us  to  enter  into  controversy  with  England 
on  tlii"  point;  and  that  it   w  .nl]  bo  cleaHy  the  business  of  the  invited 


ADDENDUM.  407 

nation,  if  they  desired  to  come,  to  demand  of  that  country  the  right  of 
way  to  and  from  these  ports. 

Although  the  opening  of  the  navigation  of  the  Amazon  would  re- 
dound greatly  to  our  advantage,  I  am  very  far  from  desiring  that  we 
should  enter  into  controversy,  far  less  into  hostile  controversy,  with 
Brazil.  She  is  an  American  nation ;  she  is  a  friendly  nation  ;  she  is 
next  to  ourselves  in  power  and  wealth  on  this  continent.  There  are 
great  reciprocal  advantages  in  the  trade  between  the  two  countries, 
though  far  the  greatest  on  her  side ;  and  there  is  a  sort  of  bond  between 
us,  in  the  fact  that  we  are  both  slaveholding  nations.  Yet,  I  do  think 
that  in  her  broadly  and  openly  expressed  fear  of  us,  she  is  doing  us  a 
wrong,  standing  in  the  way  of  our  just  rights,  and  I  think  that  this 
sentiment  should  be  strongly  expressed  by  our  people  and  our  government. 

It  is  true  that  she  does  a  greater  wrong  to  herself;  that  she  bars  the 
way  to  her  advancement  and  her  glory  ;  but  that  is  her  own  business, 
and  she  has  a  right  to  judge  for  herself. 

I  have  heard  it  said,  and  Paz  Soldan  uses  the  argument  in  his  cor- 
respondence with  Clay,  that  we  are  exclusive  and  jealous  in  this  respect, 
and  that  we  keep  the  navigation  of  our  rivers  to  ourselves.  This  is 
not  so.  A  Brazilian  vessel,  or  the  vessel  of  any  foreign  nation,  pass- 
ing through  the  formalities  of  the  custom-house  at  New  Orleans,  may 
carry  her  cargo  under  her  own  flag  to  St.  Louis,  to  Memphis,  to  Cincin- 
nati, ports  of  delivery,  discharge  it  there,  and  take  in  a  return  cargo 
for  her  own  country.  This  is  the  case  on  the  Hudson,  the  Potomac, 
the  James,  the  Rappahannock,  and  I  have  no  doubt  that,  M'henever  a 
town  on  navigable  waters  may  desire  to  be  made  a  port  of  delivery,  the 
boon  will  be  instantly  granted  by  Congress,  unless  there  be  special 
reasons  against  it,  and  foreign  vessels  will  be  permitted  to  load  and 
unload  there. 

This,  too,  is  on  waters  belonging  exclusively  to  us.  Little,  then,  would 
we  be  disposed  to  follow  the  lead  of  Brazil,  and  undertake,  contrary  to 
right  and  the  laws  of  nations,  to  interpose  obstacles  to  foreign  nations 
trading  with  each  other,  because  the  way  of  this  trade  was  along  rivers 
passing  through  our  territories.  Did  Great  Britain  own  a  naAagable 
tributary  of  the  Mississippi,  and  were  she  to  declare  a  port  situated  on 
this  tributary  free  and  open  to  the  commerce  of  the  world,  we  would 
not  think  of  closing  the  Mississippi,  and  shutting  out  that  trade.  This 
matter  has  been  discussed,  and  our  ablest  statesmen  have  allowed  that 
we  would  have  no  right  to  do  so.  It  is  a  bad  rule  that  won't  work  both 
ways  ;  what  we  demand  we  should  always  be  ready  to  give,  and  what 
we  are  ready  to  give,  we  ought,  if  just  and  necessary,  to  demand. 


44IB  ADDENDUM. 

It  19  a  perfectly  wdl-known  and  univentally  admitted  fact  that  no  na- 
tion holding;  th«^  strait  that  connocLs  two  seaa,  has  the  ricrlit  to  block  up 
that  Ptrait,  and  pr»n-ent  the  free  passage  of  commerce.  Turkey  has  no 
riglit  to  block  up  the  Dardanelles.  Did  Enjjland  own  both  sides  of  the 
{itrnits  of  (ribraltar,  she  would  have  no  right  to  shut  up  that  strait. 
Denmark  has  no  right  to  close  the  Belts;  nor  Denmark  and  Sweden 
together  the  Sound. 

I  hare  read  with  great  interest,  a  memorial  addressed  to  this  Con 
gress  by  the  Commercial  Cchivention  that   met  at  Memphis,  in  June 
1853,  through  LieuL  Maury.     Its  arguments  appear  sound   and  just- 
I  think  it  important  that  they  should  bo  read  and  considered  as  widely 
as  possible,  and  I  therefore  quote  its  c'  ■  '■  iix**-     It  is  speaking 

of  the  Spanish  American  Republics  of  t :  n. 

**  They  have  established  the  freedom  of  the  seas  upon  their  navigable 
tributaries  of  the  Amazon.  They  have  innted  the  world  to  come  and 
use  these  waters — to  settle  upon  their  banks — to  suMue  the  wilderness 
there,  and  replenish  the  solitary  places — to  make  tho<«e  lovely  comitrie* 
their  homes,  and  to  enjoy  perfect  freedom  of  trade  for  all  time. 

"  Ilt're  is  a  boon  to  the  world  ;  therefore,  neither  Brazil  nor  any  other 
nation  has  the  right  to  oppose  that  world  in  the  enjoyment  of  a  common 
good,  nor  to  throw  herself  in  the  way  of  cinlization  nor  of  human  pro- 
gress, nor  to  adopt  any  policy  adverse  to  the  rights  of  man. 

"By  these  decrees,  and  the  enlightened  course  of  policy  which  dic- 
tate^! them,  the  riparian  republics  have  removed  the  navigation  of  the 
Amazon  from  the  condition  of  a  diplomatic  question  with  Brazil,  and 
placed  it  in  the  category  of  a  great  intemati-  i-d 

and  settled,  regulated  and  adjusted,  not  ac<  •         _  ,      cy 

of  any  goremroent,  but  according  to  the  enlightened  principles  which 
sancti^,  g'  ,'^h  to,  and  make  binding  the  law  of  nations. 

**  These  '.  ive,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  converted  the  na\n- 

gable  tributaries  of  the  Amazonian  republics  into  arms  of  the  high  seas. 
Boli\-ia  not  only  gives  all  friendly  nations  the  right  tona-'  "  -'.se 
waters  for  the  purposes  of  commerce,   but  she  cpves  them  :  to 

send  there  their  men-of-war  also.  And  all  the  republics  otler  homis  to 
the  immigrant  He  »  in%'ited  to  come,  and  is  promise<l  a  homestead  in 
fee  simple  if  he  will  come.  The  homestead  bill  has  been  enacted  there 
upon  a  grand  scale,  for  whoever  will  come  is  to  be  supplied  gratis  with 
land,  seeds,  and  farming  utensils.  The  Congress  of  Teru  ha^  voted 
half  a  million  of  dollars,  to  encoorage  •ettleaMoi  and  cultivation  upon ' 
the  AmaioQ. 

"  This  masterly,  humane,  and  wise  action,  on  the  part  of  these  repub- 


ADDENDUM.  409 

lies,  has  changed,  in  the  international  eye  of  the  law,  the  character  of 
the  Amazon,  as  it  flows  through  the  territory  of  Brazil,  and  has  con- 
verted it  from  a  river  into  a  strait,  connecting  arms — free  navigable 
arms — of  the  sea  with  the  main  ocean.  And  no  nation,  even  though 
she  own  both'shores  of  such  a  strait,  can  have  the  right  to  shut  it  up 
against  the  world  as  a  common  highway.  Such  is  the  doctrine  of  the 
international  code. 

"'Straits,'  says  Wheaton,  'are  passages  communicating  from  one 
sea  to  another.  If  the  navigation  of  the  two  seas  thus  connected  is 
free,  the  navigation  of  the  channel  by  which  they  are  connected  ought 
also  to  be  free.  Even  if  such  strait  be  bounded,  on  both  sides,  by  the 
territory  of  the  same  sovereign,  and  is  at  the  same  time  so  narrow  as 
to  be  commanded  by  cannon-shot  from  both  shores,  the  exclusive  terri- 
torial jurisdiction  of  that  sovereign  is  controlled  by  the  right  of  other 
nations  to  communicate  with  the  seas  thus  connected.  Such  right  may, 
however,  be  modified  by  special  compact,  adopting  those  regulations 
which  are  indispensably  necessary  to  the  security  of  the  State  whose 
interior  waters  thus  form  the  channel  of  communication  between  dif- 
ferent seas,  the  navigation  of  which  is  free  to  other  nations.  Thus  the 
passage  of  the  strait  may  remain  free  to  the  private  merchant  vessels 
of  those  nations  having  a  right  to  navigate  the  seas  it  connects,  whilst 
it  is  shut  to  all  foreign  armed  ships  in  time  of  peace. 

"'  So  long  as  the  shores  of  the  Black  sea  were  exclusively  possessed 
by  Turkey,  that  sea  might,  with  propriety,  be  considered  a  mare 
clausum  ;  and  there  seems  no  reason  to  question  the  right  of  the  Otto- 
man Porte  to  exclude  other  nations  from  navigating  the  passage  which 
connects  it  with  the  Mediterranean — both  shores  of  this  passage  being 
at  the  same  time  portions  of  the  Turkish  territory  ;  but  since  the  terri- 
torial acquisitions  made  by  Russia,  and  the  commercial  establishments 
formed  by  her  on  the  shores  of  the  Euxine,  both  that  empire  and  other 
maritime  powers  have  become  entitled  to  participate  in  the  commerce 
of  the  Black  sea,  and  consequently  to  the  free  navigation  of  the  Dar- 
danelles and  the  Bosphorus.  This  right  was  expressly  recognised  by 
the  seventh  article  of  the  treaty  of  Adrianople,  concluded,  in  1829,  be- 
tween Russia  and  the  Porte,  both  as  to  Russian  vessels  and  those  of 
other  European  States  in  amity  with  Turkey.' — Wheaton^ s  Elements  of 

International  Law ^2^^ 9*^  229. 

"  The  international  code,  though  it  affords  cases  which  rest  upon  the 
principles  involved  in  this  question  of  the  Amazon,  yet  it  affords  no 
case  precisely  similar  and  parallel  to  it. 

"  In  the  first  place,  there  is  no  other  river  in  the  world  like  the  Ama- 


•110  ADDENDUM. 

7.on.'  Tho  treaties  of  V'ionnn  ruKp«'ctinp^  the  great  Euro|)eaD  rivers,  aiid 
by  whirli  the  navigation  of  the  Khine,  ttc,  was  declared  to  be  cntin-ly 
free  ihruujrhout  il»  whole  course,  indudiHl  no  case  so  broad,  scTcoinpro- 
hensive,  so  strongly  urgent,  aa  is  this  of  tho  Amazon. 

"In  the  next  place,  the  European  rivers  pimply  invoh'ed  (juestionB 
purely  of  comintTcial  convenience;  whereas  the  Aina/on  not  onlv  in- 
volves th»•^e,  but  actually  includes  rjuestionsof  civilization,  of  settlement, 
and  of  the  use  of  vacant  lands,  which  their  proprietors  have  offered  in 
fee-fiimpio  to  the  laboring  men  of  whatever  ttmgue. 

"Tho  valley  of  the  lihino  was  already  peopled  and  subdued  to  culti- 
vation ;  and,  in  cai>o  tho  people  on  its  upper  waters  were  barre<l  out 
through  it  from  tlie  sea,  the  features  ot  the  country  were  not  such  as 
to  cut  them  ofl'  from  all  commercial  intercourse  with  the  rest  of  the 
wjjfld. 

"Now,  all  commercial  intercourse  between  the  rest  of  the  world  and 
tho  Atlantic  slopes  of  those  three  republics  is  cut  oft'  from  the  I'acific  by 
tho  Andes,  and  there  is  no  other  channel  to  the  high  seas  left  except 
that  by  way  of  the  Amazon. 

"  In  the  case  of  the  great  European  rivers,  the  question,  as  already 
stated,  was  chielly  one  of  commercial  convenience  and  facility  of  com- 
munication ;  but  with  tho  republics  of  the  Amazon  it  is  not  only  a 
question  of  commercial  convenience,  but  a  question  also  of  national 
well-being — of  commercial  necessity — a  question  of  cultivation  and  set- 
tlement, of  immigration,  of  civilization,  and  it  is  even  a  question  of  hu- 
manity ;  for,  unless  the  Amazon  bo  opened  to  tliose  republics,  their 
territories  bordering  upon  it  nmst  forever  remain  a  wilderness,  and  the 
people  who  dwell  there  must  ever  be  stinted  in  their  enjoyment  of  tho 
ble8sing8  of  civilization  and  refined  culture. 

"If  the  Mediterranean  were  shut  up — if  tho  nations  bordering  Ujwn 
it  were  denied  access,  through  tho  straita  of  Gibraltar,  to  and  from  tho 
great  common  highway  of  all  nations — then,  and  in  that  contingency, 
wo  should  have,  in  'v  .  ..iiiin.-r.  i-il  ^.n-,..,  n  case  precisely  similar  to  that 
of  the  Amazon. 

"Tho  Meditcrrant-an  powcis  (ilial  mh  Iteing  closed)  would,  we  will 
mippose,  do  as  the  three  riparian  republics  of  tho  Amazon  have  done, 
viz:  proclaim,  each  for  its  own  ports  and  watcts,  tlio  freedom  of  tho 
»oa»,  n:.  '        '        ■■  ^  to  come  and  tmdo  wjth  them.     Would  tho 

nation  •  laits  of  (Jibrallar  have  tho  right  to  do  what 

Brazil  has  done,  l<.>ss  than  one  month  ago,  touching  tliis  groat  South 
American  strait,  viz :  proclaim  to  the  world  lliat  no  foreign  flag  should 
ent«r  there! 


ADDENDUM.  411 

"  Wheaton  is  very  clear  upon  this  point.     Let  liim  answer  : 

"  '  As  to  straits  and  sounds,'  says  he,  '  bounded  on  both  sides  by  the 
territory  of  the  same  State,  so  narrow  as  to  be  commanded  by  cannon- 
shot  from  both  shores,  and  communicating  from  one  sea  to  another,  we 
have  ah-eady  seen  that  the  territorial  sovereignty  may  be  limited  by 
the  right  of  other  nations  to  navigate  the  seas  thus  connected.  The 
physical  power  which  the  State  bordering  on  both  sides  the  sound  or 
strait  has,  of  appropriating  its  waters,  and  of  excluding  other  nations 
from  their  use,  is  here  encountered  by  the  moral  obstacle  arising  from 
the  right  of  other  nations  to  communicate  with  each  other.  If  the  straits 
of  Gibraltar,  for  example,  were  bordered  on  both  sides  by  the  posses- 
sions of  the  same  nation,  and  if  they  were  sufficiently  narrow  to  be  corn* 
mauded  by  cannon-shot  from  both  shores,  this  passage  would  not  be 
the  less  freely  open  to  a\\  nations,  since  the  navigation  both  of  the  At- 
lantic ocean  and  of  the  Mediterranean  sea  is  free  to  all.  Thus,  it  has 
already  been  stated  that  the  navigation  of  the  Da.rdanelles  and  the  Bos- 
phorus,  by  which  the  Mediterranean  and  Black  seas  are  connected  to- 
gether, is  free  to  all  nations,  subject  to  those  regulations  which  are  in- 
dispensably necessary  for  the  security  of  the  Ottoman  empire.' — 
Wheaion's  Elements  of  International  Lau\p)-  240. 

"Now,  Bolivia  and  Ecuador  have  both  established  ih.Q  freedom  of  the 
seas — that  is  the  term  used  by  President  Belzu — upon  their  Amazonian 
waters,  as  Russia  did  upon  the  Black  sea,  by  her  acquisitions  along  its 
shores,  and  as  the  Baltic  powers  did  before  her.  These  republics  have 
made  a  free  gift  of  their  waters  to  commerce,  as  the  nations  of  the  Bal- 
tic and  Black  seas  did  ;  and  they  have  brought  the  Amazon,  in  Brazil, 
exactly  within  the  case  so  well  put  by  this  distinguished  jurist. 

"  ihe  international  code,  like  all  others  of  human  origin,  requires  oc- 
casional revision ;  for  the  principles  which  have  been  laid  down  in 
Europe  with  regard  to  seas,  rivers,  and  other  questions,  have  not  always 
been  either  sanctioned  or  acquiesced  in  on  this  side  of  the  water. 

"  We  have  filed  in  the  great  international  court  our  bill  of  exceptions 
to  the  European  doctrine  concerning  blockades,  the  right  of  search, 
closed  seas,  and  other  points,  as  to  which  the  grand  inquest  of  the 
world  at  large — the  people,  not  kings — have  pronounced  judgment;  and 
their  verdict  is,  we  are  right. 

"  Hence  the  stronger  necessity  and  greater  propriety  in  laying  down 
now  the  international  doctrine  which  ouojht  to  obtain  with  regard  to  the 
Amazon. 

"In  1821,  Russia  claimed  the  exclusive  right  of  navigating  the  North 
Pacific  ocean,  upon  the  ground  that  she  owned  portions  both  of  the 


412  ADI»BlffI>UM. 

Asmtic  and  Aini^rican   shons,  which   hrought  that  occau  within  the 
catejfoiv  of  n  clos<'<|  sea. 

**Thi.H  chiiin  was  contested  in  liminf,  and  successfully  resisted  bj  tlie 
statcsiiun  of  America. 

"In  like  manner,  the  American  doctrine  wiili  regard  to  navigable 
wattr-courses  owned  by  two  or  more  nations  i.s  well  under8tf>o«J,  for  it 
has  Ken  often  proclaimed  touching  our  own  Mi>.'«i^>ip)>i,  ii.'*  well  as  the 
St.  Lawrence. 

"Ir.  eiieh  of  these  ca.ses  there  were  but  two  riparian  Matfs;  but  with 
regard  to  the  Amazon  there  are  no  less  than  «ix.  This  complicates  the 
•  [uestion,  and  makes  any  special  arrangement  among  them  with  regard 
to  the  navigation  of  that  river  very  diHicult,  if  not  impossible.  Two  of 
the  riparian  republics  are  alrea«ly  at  war,  and,  owing  to  this  circum- 
stance, one  of  them  is  excluded  from  the  proposed  Amazonian  Congress. 
Inactii>n,  the  statu  quo,  the  sealed  river  and  closed  strait,  and  unsubdued 
wihlerneNS — these  are  what  lirazil  wants.  And,  therefore^  aft'-r  having 
exhausted  argument,  there  is  no  way  left  for  the  adjustment  of  this 
(juestion  by  the  United  States — and  the  Unitid  States  ought  to  adjust 
it,  for  it  us  an  American  question — but  that  which  the  laws  of  nations 
suggest. 

'*  In  such  a  case — in  cases  where  the  riparian  States,  desiring  to  confine 
the  navigation  of  their  own  waters  to  their  own  citizens  and  subjects, 
cannot  agree  among  themselves  as  to  the  terms  and  conditions,  then, 
aeoording  to  Puft'eiidorf,  the  sovereign  rights  'are  disiributtnl  according 
to  tlie  rules  applicable  to  neighboring  proprietors  on  a  lake  or  river, 
supptKsing  no  compact  lias  been  made.' 

"It  would,  therefore,  appear  that  this  government  would  have  tlie  right 
on  its  bide,  were  it,  witliout  further  ado,  to  yield  to  the  entreaties  of  its 
citizens,  and  give  safe  conduct  up  and  down  the  Amazon  to  those  who 
desire  to  [>enelr4te  through  it  up  into  I'eru,  Holivia,  and  Ecuador,  with 
the  river  steamer,  and  to  pu^h  their  enterprise  into  these  remote  regions 
in  search  of  that  commerce  and  those  important  privileges  which  the 
liberality  and  laws  of  these  governments  guaranty  to  them. 

"Mra/il  has  no  treaty  of  commerce  aJid  navigation,  or  of  anuty  and 
friendship,  with  this  government ;  the  (juarter  of  a  century  has  elapsed 
since  the  last  one  was  made,  and  she  has  steadily,  for  the  last  fifteen  or 
twenty  years,  refused  to  renew  it.  Therefore,  if  she  Ik«  dealt  with  now 
strictly  according  to  the  law  of  nations  in  this  matter  of  the  Amazon, 
she  could  not  rightfully  complain. 

"Hut  your  mr  '  love  jx-aee,  and  value  exceedingly  the  relations 
of  amily  and  ti.  that  have  ever  existed  between  this  country 


ADDENDUM.  413 

and  Brazil.  Tliey  believe  that  tliere  is  virtue  in  forbearance,  and  there- 
fore pray  for  sucb  action  only,  on  the  part  of  your  honorable  bodies,  as 
may  secure  the  free  navigation  of  the  Amazon  peaceably,  and  with  the 
consent  of  Brazil :  peaceably  if  we  can — forcibly  if  we  must. 

"To  accomplish  the  former,  it  is  only  necessary,  in  the  judgment  of 
your  memorialists,  to  lay  down  the  doctrine  which  this  nation  holds 
upon  this  subject,  and  then  to  remind  Brazil  of  the  rights  which  Ameri- 
can citizens  have  upon  the  headwaters  of  the  Amazon ;  of  the  doctrine 
which  we  on  this  side  of  the  equator  have  always  held  as  to  the  naviga- 
tion rights  of  riparian  States;  and  to  pass  in  review,  for  her  edification, 
the  relations  of  commerce,  business,  and  friendship  between  the  two 
countries,  which  it  is  not  the  wish  of  this  country,  and  certainly  not  the 
interest  of  that,  to  disturb. 

"There  are  few  countries,  having  friendly  dealings  with  each  other, 
between  which  commerce  is  more  one-sided  in  its  operations  than  is  our 
commerce  with  Brazil.  On  one  side  it  is  all  free  trade,  but  on  the  other 
it  is  restrictive  in  the  highest  degree.  Owing  to  the  illiberal  policy  of 
Brazil,  our  commerce  with  her  is  carried  on  upon  very  unequal  and 
disadvantageous  terms. 

"Coffee,  drugs,  hides,  and  India  rubber,  are  the  chief  articles  that  are 
exported  from  Brazil  and  brought  to  this  country,  and  this  country  is 
Brazil's  best  customer.  We  take  about  two-thirds  of  her  whole  coffee 
crop;  we  admit  her  coffee  duty  free;  and  also  the  other  staples  enu- 
merated above  are  either  on  the  free  list,  or  are  admitted  at  rates  merely 
nominal. 

"On  the  other  hand,  the  coffee  which  Brazil  sells  to  us  is  first  taxed 
with  heavy  excise  duties,  and  the  flour  which  she  receives  from  us  is 
saddled  at  her  custom-house  with  enormous  charges,  thus,  greatly  re- 
stricting the  consumption  of  the  one  and  keeping  down  the  demand  for 
the  other. 

"  We  send  to  Brazil  the  manufactured  article ;  she  gives  us  in  return 
the  raw  ;  yet  so  unequal  is  the  trade,  that  the  balance  is  largely  against 
us.  We  have  to  send  heavy  remittances  in  bullion  to  pay  for  our  pur- 
chases in  her  markets,  and  yet  we  have  never  threatened  her  with  re- 
taliatory duties. 

"The  annals  of  commerce  among  friendly  Christian  nations  may  be 
challenged  almost  in  vain  for  another  case  like  this — a  case  where  the 
nation  supplying  the  elaborated  article,  and  receiving  in  exchange  raw 
produce,  finds  herself  at  such  odds  as  to  leave  the  balance,  year  after 
year,  heavily  against  her. 

"Nevertheless,  we  are  the  friends  of  Brazil  and  her  best  customer,  and 
28 


414  ADDEXDUNf. 

* 

it  may  l>c  well  for  h*r  to  bwir  in  mind  tlic  lilural  policy  and  the  marked 
deprtv  of  friendly  consideration  which  tliis  jjowrnment  has  ever  observed 
towardu  her  people.  A  duty  in  this  country  of  a  few  cents  a  f>ound  on 
Brazilian  coffee  would  tourh  a  popular  nerve  in  that,  which  would 
vibrate  through  ever)-  department  of  the  empire,  and  convey  its  im- 
pressions to  the  throne  itself.  To  provoke  such  retaliation  would  be  a 
crime  scarcely  short  of  deliberate  regicide  on  this  continent. 

"  As  for  the  rights  of  riparian  States  to  rivers  that  are  owned  in  com- 
mon, the  doctrines  held  by  the  United  States  with  regard  to  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  Mississippi,  when  both  banks  at  its  mouth  were  owned  by 
France  or  Spain,  are  too  well  known  to  require  repetition  here.  Suffice 
it  to  say  tliat  the  American  people  were  not  only  prepared  to  maintain 
that  right  by  force,  but  tliey  also  insisted  for  a  jtlace  of  free  deposite  at 
ita  mouth — a  place  where  they  might  load  and  unload,  tranship  and 
deposit*',  without  any  fees  or  charges  whatever,  save  those  of  wliarfage 
and  storage. 

"With  regard  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  doctrine  held  by  the  United 
States  was,  that  the  right  of  American  citizens  to  use  the  waters  of  that 
river  for  tluating  their  vessels  to  and  from  the  sea  rested  on  the  same 
ground  and  obvious  necessity  which  had  been  urged  to  the  Mississippi ; 
that  the  treaties  concluded  at  the  Congress  of  Vienna,  which  stipulated 
that  the  navigation  of  the  Rhine,  the  Moselle,  the  Meuse,  and  otlicr 
great  rivers  of  Europe,  should  l>e  free  to  all  nations,  covered  this  ground; 
and,  finally,  that  this  claim,  wliilc  its  enjoyment  was  necessary  to  the 
development  and  prosperity  of  many  States  of  this  Union,  was  not  in- 
jurious to  Great  Britain,  nor  could  its  exercise  violate  any  of  her  just 
rigljts.* 

"This  claim  was  resisted  by  the  British  government  chiefly  on  the 
ground  that  the  St.  Lawrence  was  not  navigable  from  the  Si-a  all  the 
way  up  to  tlie  lakes;  that  tliere  were  connected  with  it  portages,  or 
artificial  canals,  leading  through  British  territory;  and  that  the  right,  if 
vested  in  a  foreign  nation,  to  us»^  these  in  war,  might  prove  inconveni- 
ent, if  not  injurious,  &o.  And,  furthermore,  it  was  held  that  the  Ameri- 
can government  could  not  insist  upon  it«  claim  unless  we  were  prepared 
tn  ronci'dc  to  British  subjects  the  rights  of  free  navigation  upon  the 
Mivi-^ippi  river.f 

"In  r»-ply  to  thi.s,  it  was  held  that,  so  far  as  gfeographical  knowle<lgo 
then  extended,  the  Mississippi  and  all  of  its  tributaries  laid  wholly 
within  the  territory  of  the  United  States;  that  Great  Britain  had  no 


•Pub.  Doc  No.  43,  ia87-'«.  tCoog.  Doc.  No.  43,  1827-'8. 


ADDENDUM.  415 

more  right  than  any  other  foreign  nation  to  the  navigation  of  this  river. 
But  if  further  research  and  discovery  should  estabUsh  the  fact  that  the 
waters  of  the  Mississippi  connect  themselves  with  Upper  Canada,  as . 
those  of  the  St.  Lawrence  do  with  the  United  States,  then,  and  in  that 
case,  the  American  government  would  be  both  willing  to  recognise  and 
ready  to  concede  the  right  of  British  subjects  freely  to  navigate  the 
Mississippi  through  such  connexion  from  the  lakes,  or  the  land,  to  the 
sea.* 

"With  regard  to  the  St.  Lawrence,  the  American  Executive  advanced, 
among  other  arguments,  the  very  doctrine  that,  in  its  comprehensive 
sense,  now  applies  to  the  Amazon. 

"In  the  case  of  the  St.  Lawrence,  two  powers,  and  only  two,  were 
concerned  in  its  navigation.  Though  each  owned  a  portion  of  the 
great  lakes,  yet  neither  of  them  did  as  the  upper  riparian  States  of  the 
Amazon  have  done,  viz:  convert  those  upper  waters  into  inland  seas, 
by  declaring  their  navigation  free,  and  inviting  all  the  world  to  come, 
and  each  nation  under  its  own  flag,  for  traflSc  and  trade. 

"Had  the  United  States  been  the  sole  proprietor  of  the  great  lakes, 
and  had  it  been  thought  proper  to  proclaim  the  freedom  of  the  seas  for 
these  waters,  and  to  make  the  navigation  of  them  as  free  to  all  nations 
as  is  the  navigation  of  the  blue  waters  of  the  deep  sea,  then  the  naviga- 
tion of  the  St.  Lawrence  would  have  been  a  question  in  which  the 
whole  commercial  world  would  have  been  equally  interested  with  this 
government.  It  would  have  represented  the  case  of  the  Dardanelles 
after  Russia  became  part  owner  of  the  Black  sea,  and  the  navigation  of 
it  was  thrown  open  to  the  world.  It  would  have  been  an  exact  type  of 
the  case  presented  with  regard  to  the  Amazon  since  the  decrees  of 
Bolivia,  Peru,  and  Ecuador,  which  have  made  the  running  waters  of  it 
and  its  navigable  tributaries  as  free  to  man's  use  as  is  the  air  we  breathe, 
or  the  blue  waters  ploughed  by  American  keels  in  the  middle  of  the 
ocean. 

"But  as  it  is,  principles  broad  enough  to  cover  this  case  of  the  Amazon 
were  laid  down  by  American  statesmen  with  regard  to  the  St.  Lawrence, 
when  they  maintained  that  if  that  river  bad  been  'regarded  as  a  strait 
connecting  navigable  seas,  as  it  ought  properly  to  be,  there  would  be 
less  controversy.  The  principle  on  which  the  right  to  navigate  straits 
depends  is,  that  they  are  accessorial  to  those  seas  which  they  unite, 
and  the  right  of  navigating,  which  is  not  exclusive,  but  common  to  all 


'  Mr.  Clay  to  Mr.  Gallatin,  June,  1836. 


416  ADDENDUM. 

nations — (he  ri'jht  to  narir/ate  the  seas  drawituj  after  it  that  of  passing 
tfie  straits' 

"And  this  is  tho  dcK-trine  upon  which  the  people  represented  in  the 
Memphis  convention,  and  who  are  apain,  in  the  persons  of  th«'ir  n-pre- 
sentatives,  about  to  assfUiMe  in  the  city  of  Clmrleston  for  the  furtl)er 
consideration  of  this  and  other  great  questions,  found  their  hoj)e.s. 
Thoy  Wlieve  it  just,  and  desire  to  see  it  endorsed  and  to  hear  it  pro- 
cJaimed  from  the  chambers  of  the  Capitol. 

'•If  it  Ikj  urjjed,  in  the  ease  put  by  the  Uiiit<'<l  States,  the  waters  con- 
temi)lated  were  in  the  shape  of  great  lakes,  whereas,  in  the  case  of  tho 
Amazon,  they  are  in  the  shape  of  rivers  only,  and  that,  therefore,  the 
comparison  eannot  be  fairly  drawn  :  if  it  be  urged  that  neither  can 
comparison  W  drawn  willi  regard  to  the  Dardanelles  and  HIack  sea, 
because,  in  that  case,  it  is  a  real  strait  and  salt  water  that  are  con* 
cerned, — whereas,  in  this,  it  is  really  a  river,  and  fresh  water  only  :  if 
it  be  urged  that  this  government,  not  having  domiition  over  any  of  these 
South  American  waters  arul  their  littorals,  has,  therefore,  no  right  to 
interfere  with  Hra/il  in  any  policy  she  may  choose  to  adopt  with  regard 
to  the  Amazon,  its  iKiviLjation.  and  riiviriiin  States, — the  rej)Iy  is  both 
ready  and  ]>lain. 

"Neither  shape  of  wMi-i  was  ,  ii'>i  ili.-  >\vietiie»  of  its  fountains,  has 
anything  to  do  with  its  free  use  by  man.  Lake  Titieaca  is  siilt.  Lake 
TiticAca,  its  waters,  and  its  shores,  lay  within  tho  dominions  of  both 
Peru  and  Bolivia.  Now,  suppose  it  were  connected  with  the  headwaters 
of  the  Amaion  through  navigable  channels,  and  that  Peru  and  Holivia 
were  to  proclaim  the  freedom  of  the  seas  for  Lake  Tilieaea,  as  thoy 
have  done  for  the  water-courses  of  the  Amazon,  should  we  not  have 
tlie  case  of  the  HIack  sea  and  the  Baltic,  with  tho  sound  and  the  Dar- 
danelles, and  their  bitter  waters,  all  repeated  here  upon  the  Amazon 
over  again ;  and  would  not  tho  great  powers  of  the  earth  have  tho 
same  right  to  interfere,  with  regard  to  the  passage  of  their  citizens  and 
vessels  through  tho  Amazon,  in  Brazil,  to  Titieaea,  in  Peru,  that  they 
have  had  in  the  (•as4?  of  the  sound  and  tho  Dardanelles;  or  that  they 
would  have  in  case  Turkey  or  Denmark  should  attempt,  arbitrarily,  to 
clt*c  either  the  one  or  the  other? 

"The  Amazon  presents  a  ease  in  which  the  commercial  nations  have 
M  much  right  to  interfere  as  the  riparian  States  themstdvos.  It  is  a 
question  of  navigation  which  is  as  broad  as  tlie  sea  ;  it  is  a  question  of 
commerce,'  of  civilization,  of  human  progress,  a<lvancement,  and  improve- 
incnt,«nd  never  before  did  the  free  navigation  of  any  river  or  strait 


ADDENDUM.  417 

present  questions  of  sucli  momentous  concern  to  tlie  whole   human 
family. 

"Apply  the  principles  of  international  law  to  this  case,  is  the  prayer  of 
the  memorialists.  If,  in  obedience  to  these  principles,  the  Amazon  be 
opened  to  free  navigation,  then  the  capacity  of  the  earth  to  sustain 
population  becomes  twofold  greater  than  it  now  is,  or  than,  with  that 
river  closed,  it  can  ever  well  be.  It  is  a  question  and  a  prayer,  there- 
fore, which  teaches  the  well-being  of  the  whole  human  family. 

"Ha^^ng  thus  endeavored  to  set  forth  the  state  of  this  important  ques- 
tion, and  to  explain  the  views  of  your  memorialists,  and  the  grounds  of 
their  prayer  with  regard  to  it,  the  opinion  is  ventured  that  these  en- 
lightened decrees  of  the  Amazonian  republics  have,  to  all  intents  and 
purposes,  converted  the  Amazon  itself,  as  it  flows  through  Brazil,  into  a 
mere  strait,  and  its  upper  waters  also,  to  all  intents  and  purposes,  into 
arms  of  the  sea.  Those  States  have  given  to  American  citizens  the 
same  rigl|^  to  sail  and  steam  up  and  down  that  river,  from  the  sea  to 
the  riparian  shores  of  Peru,  Bolivia,  and  Ecuador,  that  they  have  to  pass 
the  sound  in  their  commerce  with  the  Baltic  powers  of  Europe. 

"As  to  the  mode  of  exercising  this  right  upon  the  "  king  of  rivers," 
the  conditions  upon  which  it  is  to  be  enjoyed,  your  memorialists  desire 
that  Bra'zil  should  be  consulted,  and  that  deference  should  be  paid  to 
her  wishes,  in  so  far  that  reasonable  restrictions  may,  by  mutual  agree- 
ment, be  placed  upon  it,  as,  without  necessarily  trammeling  the  exercise 
of  it,  may,  nevertheless,  secure  her  from  any  inconvenience  or  injury 
with  regard  to  it. 

"  But  if  Brazil  should  prove  contumacious ;  if  she  should  deny  our 
rights,  refuse  to  treat,  and  persist  in  her  attempts  to  keep  the  waters  of 
the  Amazon  shut  up  against  man's  free  use,  then,  in  the  language  of 
one  of  the  most  distinguished  of  America's  jurisconsults,  your  memo- 
rialists would  have  her  reminded  that  *  mutual  intercourse  and  a  recip- 
rocal interchange  of  benefits  between  the  difierent  nations  which  compose 
the  great  family  of  mankind,  are  ordained  by  Providence  as  essential  to 
the  moral  well-being  of  the  whole  human  race.  Who,  then,  shall 
dare  to  oppose  his  will  to  the  accomplishment  of  this  divine  law  V 

"And,  as  in  duty  bound,  your  memorialists  will  ever  pray,  &c. 

"M.  F.  MAURY, 
'■'■Lieut.  U.  S.  iV.,  in  behalf  of  the  Memphis  Convention. 

"  February,  1854." 


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